Chivalry
by Fancy-Tea-Party
Summary: In the land of Terra, Jane is a Princess and the next in line for the throne. While Maura is trying to become a noble knight. They meet when they are children, despite everything they stay friends. -medieval themed- Based off of the amazing picture by Apollo-Devotee. Link in my profile.
1. Chapter 1

**Year 243.**

The air was crisp, the moon hanging high in the night sky. Stars glittered around it, promising guidance to night time travelers. Men shouted as they were pushed out of inns that were closing, no longer giving them ale. The pitter patter of feet echoed around the tall walls as people ran home, hoping to get to their doors before the curfew bells tolled. Bells that hung loosely around wondering animals necks ringed into the city that sat below the massive castle. Its tall towers casting shadows where the moon's bright light shone on it, making the cold cobblestone look eerie.

A group of dirty children whispered among themselves as they ran down the dirt road looking for scraps; anything that would stop the gnawing hunger pains that they felt. Their leader let out a shrewd whistle and the children scattered as the night guards marched by. Their iron covered feet thudded against the ground and the spears that they carried in their hands moved up and down as they walked in time with each other; their eyes scanning around, under their helms, looking for trouble makers.

Blue eyes watched as the gleaming men walked by, the child pulling himself closer to the wall, hiding underneath a table. As they walked out of view, the dust settling, he hooted like an owl giving the all clear. They dashed out, skinny hands going over empty tables.

"_Over here!"_ a young girl whispered harshly. The handful of kids surrounded her, their eyes eager to see what she was hovering over. A basket was sitting there, the smell of food wafting out of the blanket that was covering it. With a shaking hand she lifted it up and broke out into a grin. There sat six large loafs of bread, warm to the touch, the smell making their mouths water. A tall boy grabbed a piece of paper that was sitting on top of the amazing prize and read it aloud, since he was the only one that knew how to read.

"_To the gang of children that run around during the night: have this and stay warm. –R.I."_

"_Who's R.I.?" _another boy asked, grabbing the paper out of the other's hand.

"_I don't care!"_ the girl whispered back, grabbing a loaf and breaking it up, passing the pieces out, making sure the youngest got bigger sections. They all froze as a shrill scream echoed out. The boy who read the letter whipped his head around, looking for the source of the cry when it came again.

"_It's coming from the castle!"_ the girl said as they all looked up to a glowing window high up in the tallest tower. The sound of the guards coming back made the children grab the basket and scatter running to their hide out, happy about the bread from the mysterious person.

* * *

"Please my lady! You must calm down, you could harm the baby," a medicine woman said soothingly to the Queen. The dark blond haired woman threw back her head, screaming loudly, her hands gripping the sheets on her bed, sweat trailing down her forehead.

"Where is my husband!?" she called out, her eyes wide with pain.

"His Highness is out in the hallway," the small woman said, placing her hands on the Queen's stomach. "The baby needs to be birthed now My Lady." The Queen gapped at the woman before nodding her head as the medicine woman spread her legs, aiding her in the delivery of her child. The Queen's screams covered up another woman that was in pain.

* * *

Down into the servant quarters another woman was screaming, her large stomach towering over her frame.

"Push, you have to push." The light-brown haired woman grunted, her teeth pressing against each other. "That's it. I can see the head keep pushing."

"Maria! You- you have to get his father!" the woman panted, her hand gripping the arm of a dark skinned girl.

"I can't, you know I'm not allowed-"

"You must!" she cried out again as pain raced through her body.

* * *

King Francesco paced the hall way, the screams of his wife making his face white, his hand pulling on the ends of his beard. Someone running up the stairs and to him made him jump.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, but she's going into labor and requests your presence." She curtsied low to him, looking down at the ground. The King knew who she was talking about, he opened his mouth to ask something when his bedchambers doors were opened and three more women came bustling out.

"Is that…?" the King trailed off. The woman in the middle, with a bundle in her hands looked up into his face, forgetting her place. She looked grim, offering the blankets up into his arms. He looked down with worry, a sob catching in his throat. The baby was pale, its eyes closed, chest frozen.

"I'm so sorry Your Majesty," the eldest of the women said. "It was a boy." Not taking his eyes off of his dead son the King asked,

"Does my wife know that our child is… is…" He couldn't say the word.

"No she doesn't, we told her that the father must see the child first." He handed the blankets back saying quickly.

"Dispose of it and do not tell my wife, I must attend to something quickly, tell her something, anything. But don't speak of our son." Without waiting for an answer he turned on his heel, following Maria down the torch lit corridor, his clothes billowing behind him as they descended the stairs.

* * *

"It's a girl," the servant spoke softly, a smile on her face as she placed the fussing girl into the dark haired womans eager hands. The baby's arms flailed wildly, her mouth open, a cry coming out of it. The door blew open, making the new mother and the other servant jump. The servant curtsied bowing her head as the king walked in. His eyes were wide and fierce, dark shadows underneath were prominent, his beard was uneven at the end, where he had been pulling on it.

"It's your daughter Frank," she whispered. "I'm naming her Jane, after my grandmother." The King stood there frozen for a second longer before leaning down and ripping the child away from her hands. "What are you doing?!" She screamed at the man, moving through pain to get her baby back, the girl screaming louder. He turned already heading out of the door when he felt someone grasp his gown. He twirled around, his eyes cold and hard, voice coming through clenched teeth.

"If you know what's good for you servant," he spat the word out. "You'll stay quiet about this." He left without another word, leaving the woman sobbing.

He clutched the blankets to his chest, the little girl stilling, her hands gripping against the buckles of his cape. He looked down; her eyes were open but unfocused, black hair coating the top of her soft head.

"Jane…" he cooed, his legs taking him quickly up the steps to his chambers where his wife waited for him.

* * *

**Eight years later.**

"Daddy!" the blond haired girl called. She had a stick in her hand, a fierce look on her beautiful features. "Guard yourself." The older man chuckled, picking up the other stick that she threw at him. She ran at him, her small legs giving her surprising speed. She carefully waked the stick her father was holding who smiled, stepping back.

"Whoa there fierce knight! What have I done to earn this mighty fight with you?!" he asked, faking pain as she hit his leg. He fell over with an "_oomph_" and the little girl placed the tip of the stick to his heart.

"You're an evil man, Dark Mage!"

"Well if that's the case…" he trailed off, standing up faster than the girl expected, knocking her fake sword out of her hands, her scream was happy as he picked her up throwing her up in the air, her stick laying forgotten on the ground.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she yelled between screams of pleasure.

"I use levitation to get out of this duel!" He set her down as she gave him a stern look, just like her mother.

"Daaad," she dragged out. "That's cheating; you know Mommy gave me a necklace to prevent magic from hurting me." She pulled on the golden chain that was around her neck, letting a heavy red jewel fall out of the dirty shirt she was wearing.

"How could I forget Sir…?" The child puffed out her chest.

"Sir Maura to you, Dark Mage." The man laughed again.

"Maura sweet heart, you know girls aren't allowed to be knights. You need a convincing name." Maura scuffed the ground with her boots, only eight years old and already having unreachable dreams. He tapped his figures against his lips thinking, "How about Sir Alex?"

"Who's that?!"

"He was my father, your granddad. He was a strong man; they say he could lift a whole cow over his shoulder." Maura brightened, looking up into her fathers' face.

"A whole cow?" she asked with awe only a child could have.

"A whole cow." She nodded her head, determination washing over her face.

"Right. I'm Sir Alex of the Kings personal guard." He smiled down at her, ruffling her golden hair. She grumbled flattening it out making sure it was just right.

"Paddy Doyle!" Someone yelled from over their fence. Maura turned, looking at the man who stood there, her eyes widening. His chest plate gleamed in the sun, gloved hands gripping an unsheathed sword that was longer than she was tall. A helmet was pulled down over his face, red fur sprouting out of the top of it. Two other men were also in armor flanking him, all standing like they were going to attack.

"Are you a knight?" she asked softly, never before actually seeing one.

"Maura go inside, go to your mother." Scared by his tone Maura ran inside the house, the setting sun casting shadows.

"Mommy! Some men are outside." Her mother stood up from the table running to the back door, opening it a bit, her hand going to her mouth, gasping as the three men circled her husband. The knight speaking harshly to him, one of the iron clad men noticed Maura's mother standing there and started walking towards the house; she whipped around grabbing her daughter hard on the shoulders.

"Remember that game that we play, were you hide and I try and find you." Maura nodded eager to play a game with her mother it being so long. "Alright, I want you to hide, pick someplace really hard and don't come out, no matter what you hear, don't come out. I love you Maura, I love you so much." The blond girl was confused but accepted her mother's kiss on her forehead. The honey blond child dashed off, running past tables, tall bookshelves that held endless quests for her to read. She dashed up the stairs, the lit candles lighting the way, the setting sun already causing the house to darken. She passed her father's suit of armor, a dinged sword resting against it. Looking around Maura spotted a door and ran for it.

The closet was dark and it scared her a little bit. She drew her knees up to her chest, hiding behind a well bucket, her ears ringing with the silence. There came a shout followed by someone screaming. Maura gulped, resting her forehead on her knees. Thuds shook the house, making Maura whimper with the loud noises.

"_I am Sir Alex and I'm not afraid of anything_!" she whispered to herself, trying to calm her pounding heart. Maura didn't know how long she was in there, her young mind still un-able to tell time very well. Her eyes started to droop and soon her head was resting against the wall, fast asleep. Someone opening the closet door, allowing sunlight to stream onto her face is what woke her. A dirty boy stared inside seeing the child there.

"Over here!" he called, a womans face looked at her next, Maura staring back not saying anything.

"My names Alice, what's yours?" she asked Maura.

"Maura…" the childe dragged out.

"Come here Maura." She slowly bent down placing her hands underneath Maura's armpits, lifting her up. The child didn't question what was happening, used to strangers picking her up, coming and going when they talked to her father. She felt the woman place a hand on her head, willing her to bury her face into her neck. "Close your eyes," she said. Alice smelt dusty; when Maura pressed her lips against her neck she could taste her sweat there. She started walking, Maura's feet dangling around her waist.

Another smell wafted towards her nose, this one not coming from the woman that was holding her. Disregarding what Alice had said she opened her eyes. They were just walking out of the front door but she saw everything. Red covered the walls and floor; it was dark and smelt like iron. Her mother was lying in the middle of the red, her gown torn open, and her face blank.

"Mommy!?" she called, expecting her mother to laugh and stand up, pulling a prank on her. Alice broke out into a run, trying to get the innocent child away from the devastation as fast as possible.

* * *

The black haired girl ran through the gardens, her mother sitting on a bench, a young boy sitting on her lap, keeping a watchful eye. The girl giggled as the plants around her moved in the direction of her, the flowers turning towards her like she was the sun. She spotted a butterfly, soaring around a growing apple tree. She laughed gleefully, running after it, her dress flapping around her legs.

"Jane, sweetheart, don't wonder off to far now!" The child huffed watching the butterfly go outside of her reach.

"Ma! I almost had it that time!" she whined, walking back to her mother.

"I know honey…. Oh Jane!" she cried looking down at the girls dress. "Look what you did! You know we have to meet with the Earl and his wife later on." Jane tried to squirm her way out of her mother's grasp, who was trying to straighten her dress.

"Ma, I don't want to go. Adults are so _boring_," she dragged out the word, finally getting out of the crippling hold. Her mother sighed, letting go of her daughter. She rested her hand on top of Jane's younger brothers' chest.

"Jane, a princess must-"

"Must be respectful and always present," Jane finished, rolling her eyes. "Yeah I know Ma." The queen smiled softly at her daughter. Disregarding their conversation like a child would, Jane walked forward placing a hand on top of her brother's head, playing with the hair there.

"Ma, why does Frankie have blond hair like you and I have black hair like Pop?" The Queen ran her hand down the black curls that cascaded out of her daughters' head, the small silver crown barley staying in place, the thick hair pushing against it.

"You got your Father's hair." Jane gave her a bashful smile at the mention of her father, unknown dimples peeked out, the cleft in her chin started to peek out. The Queen gulped, trying on a smile to distract her child from seeing her inner thoughts. "Go Jane, wash up. I want you to be ready for our guests." Jane threw her head back groaning. A tall man in black leather stepped out of nowhere, his belt hanging low, a sword weighing it down. She skipped happily; grasping the man's gloved hand.

"Come one Vince, let's go!" He laughed at her, gripping onto the small hand. He caught the eye of the Queen who smiled at Jane's bodyguard, knowing he would give his life for her girl.

* * *

Maura stood there shivering with fear. She had no idea where she was and the house she was standing in was massive and crowded. They walked into a hall, a rug worn down lag on the floor, tables were pushed against wooden walls that had paintings hung up on them. Children ran around, some going up the stairs that sat on the far left side, others going farther down the hall, disappearing into the never ending doors. Alice gripped Maura's hand, making Maura grasp her skirt, trying not to get overwhelmed.

"Where am I?" she asked but before the woman could answer the tall oak doors on their right burst open, reveling a tall older woman, her black hair pulled tight against the base of her skull.

"Alice… who's this?" Alice stepped forward, Maura coming with her refusing to let go of her skirts.

"Constance, we found her house ransacked, here family…" Alice trailed off.

"Orphaned?" Maura looked between the two women, trying to keep up with the conversation.

"Yes Ma'am." Constance walked over, kneeling down before Maura who hid behind the Alice's skirts.

"Shh shh, there, there young one, you're safe now." Maura peeked around the fabric. "What's your name?"

"Maura Doyle…" she said shyly.

"How old are you?"

"_Eight,"_ Maura whispered. Constance's broke out into a smile at the child's shyness.

"Well Maura, I'm Constance Isles, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you too," Maura said, taking a small step away from the skirts that swallowed her up. The black haired woman laughed softly at the girl's manners, so rare in a young one. She stood up looking at Alice.

"Take her to a spare room, get her washed. I want to her to the castle when my husband and I go." Alice looked down at the blond girl.

"Is that wise Constance?" Alice asked before Constance could leave.

"Are you forgetting that the King needs to sign off on the adoption papers?" Constance scolded Alice. "If what you say is true, I want to in role her in school as soon as possible.\

* * *

Maura allowed herself to be scrubbed. Alice didn't speak much Maura noticed. Shivering slightly when the woman washed her hair Maura asked,

"Why am I here?" The hands in her hair froze before moving again.

"Maura…" Alice dragged out as she moved around the bathtub so she could face the girl. "Your mother and father… Needed to go away for a bit, just for a little while and they wanted us to look after you." Alice cursed to herself, lying to the child was no way to gain her trust.

"Oh… Where did they go?"

"That's not important, what's important is that we get you nice a clean." Maura stood up, water trailing down her body as Alice wrapped a towel around her, drying her off. As she was drying her hair Maura asked,

"But I saw Mommy in the living room when we left and she…." She scrunched up her face trying to understand what her mother was doing.

"Forget about that Maura." She quickly handed the girl a short dress needing to distract her, Maura grimaced at it.

"You want me to wear this?" Alice looked at the blonde child.

"Constance expects it from you." Slowly Maura slipped it on, having some difficulty with it.

"Here my child, you need to put it on like this," said someone from behind her, she looked over her shoulder and saw Constance walk in, helping her with the dress.

"There, fits better now doesn't it."

"Yes…" Maura looked down at the ground, fidgeting with her hands.

"Ah ah ah! You mustn't fidget Maura; we don't want you to have bad manners around the King now do we."

"Am I really going to go see the King?" Her eyes widened her face priceless.

"Not if you don't hurry up." Maura grabbed Constance's' outstretched hand, being pulled off towards something she never thought could have happened.

* * *

Jane yelped as her maid poured hot water into the bath.

"Really, Princess I don't know how you manage to get so dirty!" the woman scolded. Jane smiled at her, pushing her face out of the way.

"It's simply really Angela, it's not my fault, it's the plants." Angela raised her eyebrows watching the girl scrub her arms.

"The plants?" Jane rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious.

"Yes, they're the ones that get me so dirty." Angela sighed; this child had such an imagination. She helped Jane dry off, toweling down her wild curls. After slipping a new dark purple dress onto the moving girl, Angela grabbed the silver crown, bending down to place it on her head, Jane jumping away.

"No! I don't want to wear that thing, it hurts my head! Can't I wear my hair up?!" she whined at Angela's frowning face.

"How about we put your hair up; but you still have to wear your crown?" Jane rolled her eyes walking over to her table that held all of her jewelry and accessories. She pulled out a long black ribbon, going to place it around her hair.

"Don't you want a better color than that?" Angela grabbed a dark pink one, grabbing the black one out of Jane's hands.

"I hate pink," the child grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Well, it goes lovely with your dress, don't you want your mother to be pleased with what you're wearing." Jane mumbled something so low Angela almost missed what she said,

"_I don't care what my mother thinks."_ Angela pulled the child around, dropping down to one knee.

"Princess, you mustn't ever say that! Ever!"

"Why?! It's not like she cares about me anyways. Always 'Jane do this Jane do that,'" she said, mocking her mother's voice.

"You can't say that! Your mother loves you dearly and she's just setting you up to successful Queen, she wants' you to be the best woman that you can be-"

"I'm only eight!" Jane piped in, not wanting to be labeled a woman just yet. Angela stood up, grabbing Jane's hair again, wrapping the ribbon around it.

"She just wants you to be the best person that you can be. It may not seem like it but the Queen loves you with all her heart." Jane looked down at the floor.

"How do you know?" she whispered.

"Because I hear how she talks about you, making it seem like you're made up of nothing but sunshine and butterflies." Jane beamed at the taller woman hearing about what her mother says about her. Angela just barely got the crown in place before Jane ran off, her bodyguard jogging after her to keep up.

* * *

Maura gasped as they walked into the main chamber of the castle, the walls were lined with stained glass that told stories of fierce knights fighting for their Kings. Flags hung low, their dark red making the room look darker than it was. Guards stood along the wall, their spears pointing up to the never ending ceiling. People milled around, some sitting along the four massive tables that sat there, talking and eating among themselves; servants ran around, carrying baskets and buckets full of water, trying to get a day's work done. As Maura's group walked down the carpeted floor Maura ran her hand across one of the long table, amazing at the smoothness of it.

Constance stood at the head of the group along with a man who introduced himself as her husband, Richard Isles. They held their heads high, their outfits gleaming in the sunlight that came through the massive windows. Maura hung back, allowing the three other children to go in front of her, each of them having the same face as Maura.

"Ha ha! Here he is, the man I've been waiting for!" Someone yelled. Maura peeked around the people in front of her just catching a glimpse of Richard hugging someone.

"It's good to see you Your Majesty."

"Oh please Richard, you make me feel like an old man!" Richard laughed while Maura tried to get a better look at the King. He wore a dark blue tunic, which had gold sewn along the seams, black leggings showed off strong looking legs that ended in polished boots. He wasn't wearing a massive crown, not the kind Maura had pictured any way; it was a just a gold ring that circled his head, a purple jewel sitting in the front of it, three small white ones on either side of it. He had brown eyes that looked warm and full of life, his dark hair showing spots of grey in the temples, his beard clipped to perfection.

"Constance, always a pleasure to see you," the King said, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Always look forward to our visits Frank."

"Constance! It's been too long!" a woman cried, her shoes clicking against the ground.

"Amelia! Still can't tell time I see! It's only been a week!" Maura's eyes widened as she recognized the Queen as she embraced Constance. Her long dark blond hair was put into a stylish manner, her own crown shining with the same jewel as the Kings crown, but it was smaller and didn't have the six white jewels in it. Her eyes were a bright blue and there was something off about them that Maura couldn't place.

"No matter, still too long!"

"Oh! Princess, my how you have grown!" Constance said happily, hugging a child. She had dark hair like the King and she was at least half a head taller than Maura.

"Yes, a whole three feet since the last time I saw you," Jane said sarcastically to the older women. Amelia laughing, placing her hand on her daughters back.

"I don't know where this one gets it."

"And how is our Prince?"

"Stronger than an ox!" the King spoke up, eager to boast about his son.

"Already? I thought he's…" Constance started to ask, looking between the King and Queen.

"Only a two year old," Amelia finished, while the King rolled his eyes. "Come let us see the children, I want to pinch all their cute little faces!" Richard and Frank scoffed at Amelia.

"Women," they both said to each other laughing. Frank huffed as his wife smacked him in the chest with her folded fan, glaring at him playfully. Richard and Constance stepped aside, allowing the children to walk forward, Maura hanging back.

"Ohh!" The Queen cooed, looking at them all. Maura tried to make herself invisible. "Now child, there's no need to be shy," Amelia said, looking directly at Maura. "What's your name?"

"Maura your Highness," Maura said quickly trying to curtsy, her small body not yet used to the movement. She felt the Princess's dark eyes looking at her, but she dared not to make eye contact.

"Nice to meet you Maura." The King smiled, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist and placed his other hand on her protruding stomach, before changing the subject.

"Richard, Constance, come to my study, we must talk and sign paperwork no doubt and as always the children will be watched."

"Behave," Constance whispered to them as she walked away, following her husband and friends.

"I'm going to stay here Mother if that's alright," Jane called after Amelia only receiving a distracting answer. A boy looked up speaking boldly to Jane.

"So you're the Princess huh, that must be boring."

"I admit, at times yes, but not always." Jane said, her bodyguard lurking in the background. The boy scoffed his foot against the ground, turning to the other kids. "Who wants to play a game?" the other two kids cried out happily, throwing in their ideas while Maura slowly inched away, trying not to be noticed. Just as she was almost at the end of the room a girl slid in front of her.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" Jane asked, casually leaning against the table, looking at her nails.

"Oh I.. uh.. I just…" Maura gulped, not knowing what to say. Jane laughed standing up straight.

"I'm just kidding," she smiled. "Do you want to play with me?" she asked boldly. "We can go to the gardens."

"What if we get in trouble?" Jane waved her hand. A tall man walked up next to her, his arms folded behind his back. Maura's eyes widened as she looked up and up at him, cowering back. His face was hard and thin, black hair cut close to his scalp.

"Oh, don't be afraid of Vince, he always looks like that because he has ants in his pants." Vince laughed gruffly along with Jane. "Don't worry, as long as he's here with us, we'll be fine. Unless you want to stay with them," Jane pointed to the other kids that were behind Maura. They were all arguing with each other over who was going to be whom in their game.

"No not really…"

"That's the spirit, now come on!" Jane started to run off, Maura chasing after her.

* * *

"Whoa…" Maura let out a whistle, as they walked into the gardens, Vince hanging back.

"Nice isn't it? It's my own garden; it's even named after me." Maura raised her eyebrows in disbelief at the Princess as they walked down a path; Jane laughing at her new friends face. "Okay, maybe not me, me. But it is called the Rizzoli gardens." Maura inspected a flower smiling.

"It's not named after you then, it's named after the King." Jane kicked some pebbles, Maura adding quickly. "I mean, one day it will be, when you're the Queen." The Princess looked at her.

"Hey," Jane smiled brightly. "I guess you're right."

They played with each other for over an hour, running down through the garden. They talked about everything that occupied an eight year old mind. Maura pointed out the different kinds of flowers, saying their names. Soon they made a game out of it, Jane pointing out plants and Maura named them. At one point Jane convinced Vince to secretly lift Maura up and place her on his shoulders. She screamed and then laughed loudly as she looked out over the gardens on her new height, awed by the view. The blond whispered into Vince's ear who grinned up at her nodding. He dropped Maura down to the ground, quickly searching for a stick and passing it to her. He then out stretched his arms chasing after Jane, roaring loudly. Jane playing along pretending to faint, calling out,

"I need a knight to save me!"

"Don't worry Princess I'll save you!" Maura called jumping in between Vince and Jane yelling, "Back! Back I say!" As if Vince understood Maura's mind, he jumped back, landing harshly on the ground, rolling around and then becoming still, when Maura threw out her hand yelling oddities casting a invisible magical spell. Maura dropped her stick, turning to Jane.

"Princess are you alright?!"

"Thank you! Thank you sir…?" Her face broke out of character for a second with her question, Maura quickly whispered.

"_Alex."_

"Thank you for saving me Sir Alex! As a token of my gratitude I give you this!" Jane pulled on the ribbon in her hair, letting the dark curls fall down her back. Maura held out her hand, ready to accept the gift but Jane asked,

"Can I braid your hair?" Maura smiled, dropping the act and sitting in front of Jane, eyeing Vince who still laid on the ground.

"How long will he stay like that?" she asked, feeling Jane's fingers pull softly on her hair.

"One time he stayed dead for three hours." Maura giggled as she spotted Vince open one eye looking at them and then closed it again, making sure they were still safe. She felt Jane's legs press against her back as the girl braided her hair.

"Look!" Maura pointed as two butterflies flew by, circling them before racing off.

"There are a lot of them here. I still haven't been able to catch one," the Princess said from behind her.

"Catch one, why would you want to do that?" she turned her head as she asked, Jane turning it forward again.

"Why not? Plus wouldn't it be great to be able to say that you caught one before?" Maura felt Jane's hand's working faster as she ran out of hair to work with, coming to the end of the braid.

"That would be an amazing achievement to have." Jane laughed at Maura for using big words.

"Okay so you know the names of all the plants here and you use big words, what are you a teacher?" The girl in front of her grew silent as Jane finished tying the ribbon in place. As she pulled it tight, making sure to double loop it, she grew nervous hoping she didn't offend her new friend so soon. Feeling that Jane was done Maura turned around, their knees touching as they both disregarded etiquette and sat cross legged. Maura looked around, leaning forward, Jane mirroring her.

"_I want to be a Knight when I grow up_," she whispered to the Princess. Jane's eyes grew wide.

"_Maura you know you can't. Girls aren't allowed to be Knights_." Maura leaned in closer whispering again.

"_I_ _know. That's why I want to be the first_." Jane looked at her friend, thinking hard. She stood up, leaving Maura confused, who started to stand up also.

"No, no. Hold on. Vince!" The massive man sat up at once looking around for danger. "Can I borrow your sword for a moment?" Vince gripped the handle of his sword about to pull it out when he thought better of it, instead pulling out a dagger, handing it to her hilt first, with a careful eye. Jane gripped it, clearing her throat.

"Maura kneel before me." The blonds' nerves tingled with the anticipation of what would happen next. "I, Princess Jane Clementine-"

"Your middle name is Clementine?" Maura interrupted.

"That's beside the point," Jane huffed continuing. "I, Princess Jane Clementine…," she paused waiting for an interruption but Maura just smiled at her. "Rizzoli, next in line to the throne and to rule over our humble land, dub thee Maura Isles," Maura frowned at the last name but kept quite as Jane tapped her shoulder with the blade. "The rights to become the leader of my own personal guard when I gain the status of Queen, only if you succeed in your quest of becoming a Knight." She handed the blade back to Vince who didn't say anything, walking back to the place where he died, laying down again. Maura beamed standing up and throwing her arms around the taller girl.

"Thank you Princess, thank you!" Jane hugged her back saying,

"Please don't call me Princess, Jane's just fine." Maura let go, stepping back.

"But that's your title?"

"It makes me seem like I'm better than you, but I know we are the same." Maura smiled again.

"Alright, Jane." The brunette grinned just as big, pointing out butterflies, the yelled with happiness as they tried to catch them. They tumbled over on another, both jumping at the same butterfly. Laughing loudly they laid on their backs, pointing up at the sky, watching the clouds shift and turn into different shapes. Someone calling out Maura's name made them quickly sit up.

"Maura! Where are you!?" Both girls ran towards the voice of Constance. "There you are! What are you doing out here?" Jane quickly spoke up, defending her friend.

"I wanted to show her the gardens and we started playing." Constance turned her sharp gaze on Jane, bowing her head softly at the Princess. "Well, we are leaving; it seems everything is in order." Maura found her voice finally, Jane's boldness encouraging her.

"What's in order?" Constance looked between Jane and Maura.

"I'll explain everything when we get back to the estate Maura, come along now." They followed behind the black haired woman, the presence of Vince's protection easing Maura's nerves. They walked into the hall, all the other children standing by the door with Richard waiting, the King and Queen nowhere to be seen. Maura pulled up short, wanting space to say goodbye to her friend. She pulled her braid around, tugging out the ribbon.

"It was nice meeting you… Princess," she thought better of using Jane's given name in front of the others, Jane seeming to understand. She placed the ribbon back into Jane's hand smiling.

"It was nice meeting you too Maura, I hope to see you again." They hugged quickly. Jane watched as Maura walked towards the group, her hair falling out of the braid that held it together, a thought striking her. "Quick, Vince cut this in half!" Jane said, shoving the long ribbon at Vince. With a blur of his hand the ribbon was cut, two pieces were handed back to her. "Maura!" She shouted, running after the girl, who turned confused.

"Here, I want you to have this," she said, handing one long piece of ribbon to her.

"I can't this is yours," Maura objected.

"No it's not, this piece is mine." She smiled, holding up the other half. "Now, no matter what we'll always be connected." Maura grinned, tying the dark pink ribbon onto the end of her braid again.

"Maura, let's go," Constance called, loosing patients with the girl. Maura waved goodbye to Jane again, as she ran after the group. She threw one last smile over her shoulder at the Princess, her green eyes dancing, before she disappeared, out into a world Jane had never stepped foot in.

* * *

**First of all, if you haven't seen the drawing, titled Chivalry, by apollo-devotee, you must! It's is simply a master piece. (The link is in my profile) I would like to give a personal shout out and Thank you to these amazing people, (these are their tumblr accounts)**

artemis-devotee

heartonaconstantrun

sideadde

artistic-tortoise

yo-doctor-death

dobismuted

guardianrock

rizzleseverywhere

**For assisting me with brainstorming for this story, it wouldn't have been this great without you guys.**

**#BRC**

**Another**** personal shout out and thank you to yo-doctor-death for dealing with me and betaing this for me!**

**Take care everyone! - FTP**


	2. Chapter 2

They walked down the stone path, heading towards the carriage that had took them here. Constance clung to her husband's arm, fanning herself and talked loudly about the visit with the Queen and King, gloating that they were friends. Maura hung back again, the other children ran around in front of her, but they were careful not to draw attention to themselves. Maura felt the tickle of something against her back, she smiled pulling her braid around seeing the ribbon there, reminding her that she too had a friend in the palace.

Tall trees sat on either side of the path, casting odd shadows in the low angled sun. Their leaves rattled against one another as wind blew threw them, causing Maura's dress to flap. She giggled at the feeling, always one who enjoyed spring. The smell of blooming flowers and fresh grass, how the clouds cleared away to show a shining sun that was casted out during the months of winter. Her favorite part was during the early hours of the morning, the moon shinning through her window, the cold would wake her, winter's last attempts to freeze you out, she would run down the hall and poke her head into her parent's room, whispering,

"_Mom, Dad, you up?" _only to receive silence. Oh, how her Mother and Father tricked her year after year. Their silence would only make Maura step inside; quickly going up to one of the sleeping figures and place her hand carefully against their nose, making sure air was coming out of it. Her Mother had shown her that, using one of the dead cows as a demonstration, teaching Maura about death.

But her parent would blow air out of their nose loudly, making her giggle as they scooped her up and carefully placed her in between them, both snuggling up with her. Sometimes she would fall asleep instantly, other times she would ask her Mother to sing to her. Just as her eyes started to droop the deep voice of her Father would join in making her finally accept sleep.

Maura looked down at the ground wishing her parents would come home from their trip soon. She felt hurt that her Mother and Father had left without saying goodbye and to place her in the care of total strangers. She sighed, her small body shaking with the sadness of an adult. _But if Mother and Father hadn't gone on this trip I wouldn't have met Jane._ She thought brightly. Her thoughts turned towards the dark haired Princess. How they had played with each other so easily. She fiddled with her hands remembering Jane's promise,

"_The rights to become the leader of my own personal guard when I gain the status of Queen; only if you succeed in your quest of becoming a Knight."_

She let out an "oomph" as she bumped into the back of the oldest boy in their group and fell to the ground.

"Watch it!" he said to her, giving her an ugly look. His hair was a dirty sand color that fell lazily into his eyes, making him swipe them away angrily, his advanced age of ten making him feel superior to the other kids. He stuck out his tongue at her and ran off, not wanting to be left behind.

Maura grumbled pushing herself up. "_Oh nooo,"_ she said to herself as she looked down. Her dress was covered in dirt, grass stains, and a leaf or two. She quickly wiped her hand across it, trying desperately to get the borrowed dress clean.

"Maura! Must we wait for you all day?!" Constance yelled at her. Maura snapped her head up. The three other children had climbed into the carriage; Constance had her head out looking at her, while Richard held the door open, all of them waiting on the blonde girl. Maura forgot about her dirty dress and blushed a deep crimson running towards the carriage. Richard chuckled stepping inside after her, closing it the door behind him.

She didn't have a choice; she squeezed herself next to the only other girl. She had odd splotches of skin on her bare arms and one that ran across her cheek. They were a dark purple, the edges of the blotches where uneven and held small red dots on them. Her hair was dark and she kept moving a small section across her cheek, self conscious about the mark there.

Maura quickly looked away, trying not to stare with the fascination of a child. Instead she focused her attention to the window that sat next to her, shielding her from the wind that blew against it. She sighed softly, resting her elbow against a ledge and let her chin fall into her hand heavily. She wanted to go home; she wanted to play Knight with her Father. But she knew she couldn't.

The carriage passed through towering gates, guards standing at attention and entered the city that she grew up in. Often times her Mother or Father would send her into town with a few coins in her pocket telling her to fetch this and that. She knew which streets to take that would lead her to her destination fastest and she knew which streets to avoid. Her eyes racked over the store fronts, her ears ignoring the conversation that was being held in the stuffy compartment. She looked at the vividly dressed people, crowds swarming around as they entered the market place.

Shop owners shouted to be heard over the loud square, trying to convince people to buy their things and their things only. Children ran through the adults playing a game of chase, yelling excitedly to each other. Oh how she longed to be out of this carriage and running around with children her own age. Maura grew angry at herself; she had never made a friend before. All the other children shunning her for her weirdness and obsession with playing Knight, not to mention how some of the kids parents pulled their son or daughter closer to their hip when they heard Maura's full name, the same thing playing over their faces over and over again, fear.

Wild colors caught her attention, her eyes zeroing in on dancers. Women clad in whirling outfits, colors flailing out of their massive skirts as the twisted around and stepped in time with the rhythmic beat of a drum. Children swung around each other in front of the dancers enjoying the free music, enjoying their day away from their parents; if they had any. The carriage made its way slowly through the mass of people, finally breaking through, heading to the Isles estate.

Just as they were about to exit the market place there was a flash of bright red hair in the window next to Maura, someone running by. Her eyes followed the hair, her curiosity peeked as the person's head bobbed next to the window, slowing down their run to keep in stride with the carriage. Maura pressed her face against the murky glass, her nose squashing against her, making it hard to breathe, her eyes straining to see the face of this person. Her eyes widened in shock as their face suddenly appeared on the other side of the glass, scaring her.

They lifted one side of their lips up in a lopsided grin at her. Their bright red hair shifted colors as sunlight fell onto it, changing the bright red shade to a lighter orange, and then wove back into a dark shade of red, like it was made out of fire. She gasped as they winked at her, their sapphire eyes were clear and were mischievous looking. Before she could get anyone's attention so they could see this stranger, they vanished into thin air, no longer walking next to the carriage as it picked up speed. Maura twirled around in her seat, causing cries of outrage by the other children and gazed out the back window, eager to get a glimpse of this intriguing person. But she only saw dust billowing behind them, obscuring her view.

"Oh Maura dear, do sit down; you're getting the seat all dirty." Constance's scolded, waking her feet with her folded fan, earning giggles from the other kids. Maura turned around, falling back on her bottom asking eagerly.

"Did you see them?! Did you!?"

"See who dear?" Richard asked, his face amused.

"The person with that had hair made out of fire!"

"That's impossible, no one's hair can be made out of fire," the eldest boy dragged out, looking at her like she was stupid.

"Not so my young boy," Richard added in, stopping the argument that was about to break out. "On one of my travels I saw a man who wore fire on his head like a hat."

"How's that?" the girl sitting next to Maura asked.

"He dipped a turban into a fire pit and pulled it out ablaze and placed it on his head, not even blinking." Maura shook her head angrily.

"No! They didn't have anything on their head, their hair," she grabbed her own braid to emphasis her point. "Was made out of fire! It changed colors just like that." She threw her hands up earning a gasp from Constance.

"Maura, please calm down. There's no need for such… hand gestures." She waved her closed fan at the girls still raised arms, who sighed letting them drop to her thighs sighing, turning her attention back out the window. The carriage came to an abrupt stop, jarring the passengers. In a few seconds the door opened reveling that they had arrived at the massive house Richard and Constance called home. Maura hopped out after the adults, the other children pushing her to hurry up. Alice stood at the entrance steps smiling at they walked up to her.

"Have them all washed and fed and bring them in one by one into my study. I want to speak to each them privately," Richard spoke to Alice who nodded her head, ushering the kids inside. Maura was pulled away from Alice by another person who grasped her hand pulling her upstairs. When she looked up it was to see an older woman, her hair a wispy gray as it floated around her face, a face with heavy lines in it showing years of laughter and pain. Maura was drawn to black eyes, they were tiny, crow's feet spawning out of them but they held so much kindness and love.

"Where are we going?" Maura asked curious as to what this massive house still had to offer.

"To get you nice and cleaned up," she had an odd voice. The air coming out in whistles as she over pronounced letters, it was high and scratchy, but somehow comforting to the golden haired girl that clung to her calloused hand.

They weaved in and out as the children ran around them, all shouting and welcoming them home. No one stopped Maura to ask her how the visit with the King and Queen had gone, all heading towards the older boy, swarming him as he spoke smugly about how the King had bowed to him. Maura shook her head at the preposterous tale.

They stepped into an open room, the old woman finally letting go of Maura's hand, making sure to close the door firmly behind her. Maura walked into the center of the room, looking around. There was a tall window that sat in the middle of the wall in front of her, its seal jutted out allowing her to sit on it if she wished. The view made Maura smile, it over looked a courtyard, with its lush grass and a massive willow tree sat in the middle of it, it's branches swaying widely as the wind tugged at it, the ground covered in its small leaves. Gravel walk ways sat at the edge of the space, only one going through the middle of leading you to a single bench that sat under the willow there. The rest of the massive building circled its perimeter, windows lining the brick exterior of the house. _Just how big is this place?_ She thought. There was a single bed pushed against the wall to her left, a worn down red blanket tucked underneath the mattress a lumpy pillow sitting on top of it.

She walked over to the bed, grabbing the pillow and sat down on the mattress, holding the lumpy thing to her chest as she took in the rest of the room. The old woman slowly moved around the other side. A large white tube sat behind a curtain that was drawn back and another door sat against the wall. The old woman moved out of the way, giving Maura a better look at what the other wall had to offer. A fire place sat there, already with a fire in it, giving off heat and bringing the water that sat in the copper pot to warmth.

"Be luckily missy, not every room as a fire place. They have to wait an extra ten minutes to get warm water!" Maura finally found her voice.

"What's your name?" She smiled reviling missing teeth, her gums glistening with saliva.

"Oh, just something long and boring. Most of the children here can't even pronounce it so they just settle with calling me Kay, or crazy old lady," she wheezed a laugh. "Yup, I've heard it all kid." She dipped her pinky into the copper pot of water, testing the heat of it. She straightened, placing a hand on her lower back looking at the young girl. "But, where are my manners. You must be Maura. I've already heard so much about you from that jabber mouth of a girl, Alice. She never does seem to stop talking," Kay moved around the room as she talked, Maura's eyes following her. "She's a nice girl though, been working' here for, oh, I'd say a good three years. She has nothing on my ten though." Maura giggled as Kay continued to talk making the old woman stop her motions smiling. "What did I say?"

"You just called Alice a 'jabber mouth,'" she scrunched up her face at the term. "But you just keep talking." Kay wheezed, the closest thing to a laugh as she got.

"You're kinda smart, how old are you?"

"I'm eight."

"Oh! You're the same age as the Princess." Maura perked up at the mention of Jane.

"I met her you know!" Maura said enthusiastically. "She gave me this ribbon!" She tugged on her braid, bringing the dark pink ribbon into view. Kay came walking over and softly grasped her braid looking down at.

"Keep this close Maura and keep that bit of information to yourself."

"Why?" she asked in confusion. Kay tugged on her arm, making her stand up.

"Not everyone will be as happy as you are that you met the Princess and that she gave you something too!" Kay warned. She pulled the ribbon loose, winding it up carefully and placed it on the bed next to the pillow. Maura felt the tug of Kay's brittle fingers as they pulled Maura's golden locks out of the loose braid. "I'm not saying you can't ware it missy, but just be careful." Maura nodded her head, still not fully understanding what Kay had meant but wanted to show that she was trying too. Kay stepped away from the girl, grabbing the pot with a gloved hand, silently counting to herself. She lifted the pot and swung it around yelling,

"Watch out!" some water slopped onto the ground, steam coming from it. Kay carefully poured the rest of the water into the tub. She set down the now empty copper pot with a clang, waving her hand at Maura, telling her to come over.

She helped Maura slip out of her dress, folding it and placing it on the bed as the small girl climbed into the tub, yelping at the temperature of the water. Maura closed her eyes as Kay took a seat behind her, washing her hair for her, the sensation of her fingers massaging her scalp making her relax more.

"Don't think I'm going to do all the work missy," Kay's whistled voice said behind her. Soap slid over her shoulder landing with a splash in the water. "We got to get you spotless. Master Isles doesn't like dirty children in his study."

"Why am I going to the study to speak with him Kay?" Maura's young voice asked as she beguine to scrub her arms, the water turning dirty.

"Just to talk to you clear some things up. He does this with all the new children that they adopt." Maura's movements froze; she turned her head to face Kay, her fingers still in her hair trying to wash.

"What do you mean adopt?" Kay's movements stopped as she looked at the girl, puzzled.

"Where are your Mother and Father?" the old woman asked suddenly.

"Alice said they went away on a trip and asked the Isles to watch me while they were gone." Kay closed her mouth, nodding grimly.

"Don't worry Maura, Richard will answer all your questions in due time."

* * *

Jane ran to the tall windows that overlooked the entrance way to the great hall, watching Maura's group leave. Her eyes never left the small blonde girl as she detached herself from the group again, staring at the ground.

"Do you think I'll see her again Vince?" her head was resting on both of her closed fists, as she leaned against the stone wall. She looked up at the tall man who stood silent like always, his silence speaking to her more than his actual words, _**I don't know kid**_. "Yeah, I didn't think so either." She said glumly. She sighed, Maura's small figure disappearing behind the curve of the path. She felt a hand weigh down on her shoulder, Vince offering his silent comfort. She pushed herself off of the wall, stepping out of his grasp.

"What am I going to do now? Go play with Frankie? Or better yet," she slapped her hands onto her cheeks, making her voice higher than it already was. "I want to go find Mother and have a lovely conversation about sowing with her! What a marvelous idea don't you think so Vince?" He simply stood there, used to her antics. "Stupid to think that I'd actually get to play with someone my own age." She rested her back against the wall, Vince joining her. Straightening out her dress an idea struck her.

"Do you think I could write her? You know, send her letters and packages and stuff!" Vince shrugged, _**I don't see why not**__. _"I wonder if Mother would approve of that…" Jane started to pace in front of Vince, her hand on her mouth. She suddenly froze, whirling around to face Vince, her hair bouncing. He simply raised an eyebrow waiting for her to speak.

"_I won't say anything if you don't say anything_," she whispered, looking around to see if any of the guards had over heard her speak. Vince smiled, pressing his lips together. "Good." She started to run down the room, eager to write a letter as soon as possible. She looked over her shoulder, Vince still leaning against the wall. "_Come oooon,_" she groaned. Realizing that the Princess wanted to write one right now, he jogged up to her. She impatiently slipped her hand into one of his gloved ones, pulling him along.

They walked down a hallway out of the great hall that was lit by the tall windows that ran the length of it, trees pushing against the thin glass. The floor silenced their steps with its long carpet that swirled with gold patterns its base color a daunting red. Jane smiled at the servants that bowed low to her as she passed, her silver crown screaming authority over them. They carried towels, pans, packages, buckets anything really. She always was interested by them, how they talked to each other when they didn't know she was hiding in one of the many secret passageways, fighting cobwebs.

They spoke of their families outside of the cobblestone walls that they lived in; asking if so and so had their child yet, this confused Jane immensely. Her Mother had tried to explain child birth to her one time, Jane gagging and screaming, _'no!'_ still echoed through the halls. All she needed to know was that your tummy would swell and then one day you would have a baby brother. She had always secretly hoped for a younger sister, one that shared her passion with the gardens. But she had no such luck. She had gotten a younger brother and when her Mother had told her that she was expecting another child again Jane had hoped and crossed her fingers that it would be a girl, only to be crushed when the medicine woman predicted yet another boy.

"There you are Princess!" Someone shouted behind her and Vince just as they were about to take the stairs that led them up the tower to Jane's room. Groaning she turned around, dropping her body guards hand as he slipped away giving her her privacy. Her maid, Angela came bustling down the hallway, fist's full of her apron. "Where have you been?! The Queen has been looking all over for you!" Jane crossed her arms, staying rooted to the first step. She rolled her eyes asking,

"If she's been looking all over for me she should have known just to go to the gardens, it's not like I have anywhere else to be." Angela huffed at Jane's teenager like attitude, forgetting that she was only eight years old.

"You know how she forgets when she's pregnant. Now come along, she wants to get you fitted for your gown." Jane threw her head back, dropping her arms letting out an even louder groan than before.

"The ball isn't for a really long time!" Angela grabbed Jane's hand, tugging her along, Vince following silently behind them.

"She knows that, but honestly, you act like this is the first time you've ever been fitted for a gown, you know it takes a while to make sure the dress is just right. Plus the King and Queen from Osen are coming. I hear they are also bringing along their son this time, Prince Barold." Jane snorted, walking down the hall with Angela.

"What kind of name is Barold?" Angela glared at her.

"Be nice Jane. This ball means everything to your Father." Jane mimed talking to much with her hand.

"Yeah yeah, politics this and politics that. I get it."

"You better. Soon you'll be ruling over Terra."

"Must you remind me of that every day?" Jane mumbled. Angela chose to ignore her.

"I thought you wanted your hair up today?" the older brunette asked.

"Oh yeah. Can you put it up for me?" They stopped walking, allowing Angela to pull off Jane's crown and grabbed all of her hair, her hand asking for the ribbon, but as she began to wind it around the thick and unruly curls she grew confused.

"Princess, is this the same ribbon that we grabbed this morning? It's too short to hold your hair up." Jane simply answered her with a,

"Uh…" Angela noticed the uneven edge asking in shock.

"Did you cut this!?" Jane spun around, grabbing the ribbon out of Angela's hand, running away.

"Nope!" But she stopped, turned around and ran back, grabbing her crown as an afterthought. Angela sighed heavily as she watching the Princess slowly run down the hall, away from her questions. Vince walked up next to her, laughing softly as he watched Jane.

Jane tucked her crown underneath her arm, grabbing a handful of hair that grew out the base of her skull and beguine to carefully braid it, her tongue creeping out of her mouth with concentration. She tied the ribbon at the end of it and inspected her work. Hair stuck out of the twists, giving it a lopsided look, one of the bits of hair ended before the ribbon, making the braid loose.

"Angela couldn't have done a better job herself." Jane said to herself with a determined nod. She heard Angela's footsteps coming up behind her. She quickly tucked the braid underneath her hair and slipped on the silver crown, waiting for them.

"If this ball is so important why don't the King and Queen from Aushtick come?" Jane's Father's land, Terra was vast taking up most of the known world. She had never been outside of it but often times studied the maps that sat in the King's study. Osen laying to the south of them, Aushtick a ring of islands that sat out in the Oniph Ocean hundreds of miles out. However her eye was always drawn towards the massive desert that sat between Terra and the eastern kingdom of Menoir, only one path safe for travelers. _What else lay in those uncharted sands?_

"They've had a death in the family and its all bad timing." Angela looked grim.

"Who died?" Jane asked unashamed. Angela glanced down at her, Jane matching her look.

"Their daughter did." The Princess regretted that she asked.

"Oh…" Jane vaguely remembered meeting Carla, the Princess of the Aushtick islands. Although her older brother, Prince Carl was already sixteen and the next in line for the thrown, only the Princess came with them to visit. Of what Jane could remember she was nice and had a deep voice with a very thick accent, only able to say short sentences not yet fully understanding the Terra language.

"What about the King and Queen from Menoir, are they coming?" They started to walk up stairs, heading towards the tailors room.

"Jane you know Menoir and Terra aren't on good terms." Angela sighed, slowing heading up her hip hurting her.

"But if you invite them to this ball can't my Father and the King of Menoir talk and play some games?" Jane didn't even know the name of the King. Angela laughed, looking down at the black haired girl.

"My my, you're full of questions today aren't you?"

"Well wouldn't you be if you had to go to a stupid ball and hang out with a bunch of grownups that want nothing more than to pinch your cheeks and tell you that you look just like your mother and then go on and on about how you're going to make such a beautiful woman?" Jane huffed stopping at the top of the stairs looking down at Angela as she made her way up them. "Just ask Vince, he'll tell you just how boring they are." At the mention of his name the man came out of nowhere, already standing at the top of the stairs next to Jane. He smiled softly at Jane as they waited. _**I have to agree with you kid, I never do like going to those things. Not to mention my formal attire is getting a bit tight around my waist.**_ He rested his hand on the black leather that stretched around his stomach to show what he was talking about, making Jane giggled. "Oh I'm sorry, is Princess protecting not hard enough work for you? Plus how could you say you're fat, I mean look at you!" Vince laughed gruffly. _**Look at me? Kid if you saw me when I was younger you would be calling me fat.**_ He patted his trimmed stomach again, Jane rolling her eyes. "What are you? Twenty?" This earned Jane a booming laugh from Vince. _**Look out world, we have a flatterer here.**_

"Who are you talking to?" Angela asked, looking at her bodyguard, he hadn't said anything at all, just laughed. Jane rolled her eyes. At one point in time she had tried to explain that Vince talked to her silently just with his movements but no one believed her the tall man never uttering a single word made them question Jane even more. She sighed heavily turning around and started walking across the bridge that hung between two towers.

"No one. Come one let's get this over with."

* * *

Maura sat at a long table, the wood a dark brown. There was worn down places in it where children had rubbed their hands against it countless of times, their arms stretching out to reach for things that were too far away, their manners seeming to disappear in a flash. There were only about ten other kids, all of them ignoring her. They were older than her and she spotted the sandy haired boy sitting among them, chewing with his mouth open.

She looked down at her own meal. A small chunk of bread with butter and it and a bowl filled with some sort of soup. Picking up a spoon she dipped it in pulling out juice. Carefully she put it in her mouth humming as the warm liquid trickled down her throat and into her empty stomach; she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten the excitement of going to the palace distracting her. She ate eagerly, soaking up the broth with the bread and chewing into it, closing her eyes in satisfaction.

"Look at you go! When was the last time you ate missy?" Kay whistled at her coming up to stand next to the sitting child.

"I don't remember," Maura said, taking another bite of her bread. Kay stood there silently waiting for Maura to finish. With a satisfied sigh she pushed the bowl away from her, patted her protruding stomach. "That was really good."

"Well missy, make sure to tell the head cook, he just loves to hear the praise from you youngsters. Now come on, Master Isles wishes to speak to you first." Maura hopped down from the wooden chair she had sat in falling into a slow step with Kay. She hobbled, her legs bowing out making her swing her legs out with each step. As usual a hand rested on her lower back, as if holding her whole skinny frame up. Without thinking Maura slipped her hand into Kay's feeling love and comfort emitting out of it. She smiled at the feeling of her braid swinging back and forth across her back, the ribbon holding her hair in place. They slowly walked down a hallway that was for once, empty.

"Where is everyone?" Maura asked as her head swirled around, not used to the silence of the house.

"It's their free time. From lunch to dinner they can do whatever they want as long as they stay safe of course. Most go outside while they still can and play out in the courtyard or down by the creek," Kay whistled. "Some even walk down to the city and play chase in the market."

"What do they do before lunch then?" Kay smiled.

"In due time Maura you'll find out. For now though…" she trailed off stopping them in front of a large door. There were carvings in it that made Maura gasp. It showed a story of some sort, a bird the transformed into a man was on one of the doors while on the other sat the same man on a his knee holding the hand of a beautiful woman. "_They say it's the story of Master Isles himself,_" Kay said, wheezing a laugh at Maura's face. She raised a bony hand knocking loudly on the door. Within a few seconds it swung open showing a smiling Richard Isles.

"Maura dear, please come in." Maura gripped Kay's hand who squeezed back before letting go.

"It's alright Missy, you can trust Master Isles." Richard held the door opened a soft smile on his face. Puffing out her chest Maura marched into the study without a backward look at Kay, hearing the door click closed behind her. There was a large oval table that sat in the middle of the wide room, it was a light color and glimmered with the sun light that came through four tall windows.

"Wow…," Maura gasped out as she stood back, craning her head back to get a look at the massive book shelf. Books of different colors, shapes and sizes stared back at her all holding information.

"Do you read Maura?" Richard asked, coming to stand next to her looking at the books.

"Yes sir. We have books at my house, but not as many as this!"

"Why don't I loan some to you sometime, help you pass the time maybe?" She grinned at him, feeling giddy with the chance to read all of these, but she remembered something.

"That's alright Mr. Isles, I'm sure Mom and Dad will be home from their trip soon." She noticed Richards face glaze over before he quickly smiled at her again. That's why I called you in here today Maura dear. Please come have a seat." He gestured to a group of arm chairs that sat around a cold fire place. She plopped down in one, the cushions swallowing up her small frame.

"Now there's something I wish to discuss with you." Maura watched as he slowly sat down in the chair in front of her, resting his elbows on his knees he leaned forward, getting closer to Maura. "I know Alice told you that your parents went away on a trip-," Maura interrupted him.

"Yeah and they'll be back any time now." Richard smiled grimly at her.

"Do you know why we went to go see the King and Queen?"

"No..."

"Well, as you may or may not know when a couple decides to adopt a child they must get the papers signed by him, approving them." Maura just blinked at him. "Constance and I run an orphanage, both of us wanted to open a home for orphaned children." Maura's stomach turned.

"Doesn't orphaned mean that the kid's parents passed away?"

"That's right Maura, you're very smart." Maura gulped, feeling fear press against the back of her head. "Maura dear, you're no longer Maura Doyle, you're Maura Isles." She continued to stare at him. "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" he asked hopefully.

"Mommy and Daddy are… are…" She finally understood, tears falling out of her eyes. Jane calling her 'Maura Isles', why she was brought here with her own bedroom, how Kay had said, '_In due time you'll find out' _how everyone had been so secretive and eluded her questions. How her Mother had laid on the ground in the living room, not getting up.

"Yes I'm afraid your parents have passed away Maura," he said softly to the crying child.

"No!" Maura yelled, her face red, tears glistening down her cheeks. She jumped out of her chair; eluding Richards attempt to grab her and bolted for the door, ripping it open. Kay was standing there waiting for them.

"Missy?!" She called as Maura ran down the hall, tears streaming down her face. She shoved open the tall front doors, sunlight streaming in, blinding her for a moment. Slipping out of the small crack Maura ran. She had never run so fast or hard in her whole life. Her feet pounded against the stone road that lead up to the Isles estate, she could hear Richard calling after her but she didn't care, she simply kept running.

* * *

Jane, Angela and Vince all walked into the tailor's room, her Mother already waiting for her.

"Jane, there you are! Where have you been?" The Queen asked, hugging her daughter.

"I met this really nice girl when Uncle Richard came over. Her name's Maura and we played out in the gardens together for hours!" Jane beamed, ready to launch into a full description of the blonde girl that she had played with.

"That's lovely dear. Now stand on this so Mr. Hedren can take your measurements." Amelia said grasping Jane's hand and helping her up.

"But I haven't told you the best part Ma!" Jane complained as she swung her arms out, Angela taking off her dress, leaving her in her undergarments.

"And what's that Jane?" Amelia asked distracted as Mr. Hedren showed her two different gowns.

"She could name all of the plants in the garden!"

"I swear you and that garden, what's so fascinating about it anyways?" The Queen asked, completely ignoring the fact that her daughter had made a new friend. Jane rolled her eyes, ignoring her Mother's question. _She wouldn't understand._

"Look at you!" Mr. Hedren said as he measured her height. "You grew almost another five inches since the last time you had a fitting done. At this rate you'll be taller than I am in a few months!" Jane giggled, Mr. Hedren always knowing what to say to ease the banter between Mother and Daughter.

"I don't know where she gets it, this one." Amelia rested her hand on Jane's cheek smiling at her, her other going to rest on her stomach. Jane smiled at her Mother's touch, as much as the Queen got on her nerves she loved her immensely, her Father barley paying attention to her, more focused on his sons. So she took the attention whenever she got it.

"Now, let's see what you look like in the pink one." Amelia dropped her hand, stepping out of Mr. Hedren's way, while Jane groaned.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky as the teenager walked, whistling merrily. He had a gold bag in one hand, twirling it around in a lazy circle, the sound of coins jiggling together. He was dressed simply, dark brown leggings and a green tunic with a belt tied tightly around his waist, holding a long thin sword. The handle was made out of a white stone, the hand guard curled elegantly over the handle, making it look like waves wrapped around your hand when you gripped the sword. His boots clicked softly against the stone ground, his red hair pulled up into a tight pony tail.

Wind blew through the trees that sat on the outskirts of the capitol city, farm houses dotting the landscape. He was about to veer off; head towards the Black Forest that sat around the city when he heard it. The sound of someone crying, the sobs racking there whole body it seemed like. There was a house sitting a few feet down the road, its back door wide open and by the sound of it, that's where the noise was coming from. Curious, he slipped the gold bag of coins into his pocket and jogged over to the fence, easily swinging himself over it.

The ground crunched underneath his boots, it was dry the grass a dead yellow from the long months of winter. As he got closer the cries got louder, half way across the yard he stopped. A large red stain covered the dirt; he knew what it was instantly. Running now, he prayed no one was hurt.

"'Lo?" he called as he stepped into the house, his nose assaulted by smells of death. "'Lo?! Is there anyone in here?!" The sobbing stopped and turned into a soft whimper. He carefully walked by the flipped over table, his hand fingering his sword. The place was a mess, things littered the ground. He spotted blood coating the walls and spray like manner telling a gruesome story. _What happened here?_

"Watcha doin' in here lil' girl?" A golden haired child sat on the floor, her knees pulled tight to her chest, her head clutched in her hands. He side stepped, dropping down to his knees, making sure to block out the view that was behind him, blood staining everything. She sniffled, not looking up at him and said,

"My parents are dead." The red head man gulped, never one that enjoyed this typed of conversation.

"What's your name?" She sniffled again, not saying anything. "My name's Jade, can you tell me yours?" She turned her head so her mouth was no longer muffled by her hands.

"Maura…."

"Maura, why don't we go talk outside where it's nice and cool." He could feel sweat trickle down his back, the situation making him flush. She looked up at him finally; her face was red and blotchy with her tears that still slowly slipped out of her eyes. Jade looked hard at her, swearing that he had seen her before. Thinking it was just a coincidence he gave her a lopsided grin, which made her gasp, her eyes growing wide.

"What? Is there something behind me?" Jade looked over his shoulder, his neck prickling.

"You're… you're," she stammered her eyes moving all over his face before settling on his hair. She rocked forward her knees hitting the floor and placed her hands on his head, Jade just sat there confused. "You're the stranger that has fire for hair!"

* * *

**hopped you guys liked it.**

**I'm glad that you people are giving this a chance, I know Jane's usually the knight and Maura the princess but alas! it's time to spice things up a bit.**

**Thank you for reading, Thank you for reading and reviewing warms my heart to here your guys's feelings towards this piece. :)**

**Take Care. - FTP**


	3. Chapter 3

Jade sat there with Maura's hands still resting on top of his head, the girl staring at him.

"Uh…"

"I saw you, when I was in the carriage coming back from the castle, you were walking next to the window and you smiled at me." Suddenly it clicked for Jade. He had seen this girl before. Slowly he raised his hands up, grasping her wrists and pulled her hands off of the top of his head. But before Jade and Maura could speak more, someone outside of the house called out,

"Maura?! Are you in there!?" The blonde girl snapped her head around, hearing Alice's voice call out for her. She felt Jade let go of her wrists and stand up, taking a step back, concern on his face, his hair shifting to a darker color, like coals slowly burning. Alice sounded like she was getting closer, calling out Maura's name.

"I'm here," Maura called, her voice cracking from crying earlier. She stood up, turning to look at Jade but she was standing by herself. The living room empty save the horrors that were inflicted upon it the night before. Table thrown over, books laying about, everything covered in crimson. Maura was old enough to know what the red meant, but she still didn't want to accept it. She bolted to the back door looking out for any sign of the fired haired boy she had just met. Sure enough there he was hoping over the fence, jogging up an unknown path that led into the Dark Woods. Before he disappeared into the shadows of the tall trees he stopped, looking back and spotted Maura standing in the doorway, looking questioningly at him. He waved once, shooting her one of his grins, before vanishing.

"Maura what are you doing here?" Alice's voice made her jump violently, not hearing the woman come up to her. Alice looked out over the grassy hill that lead into the forest, trying to see what Maura had been looking at but saw nothing.

"I… I wanted to come back," Maura said softly. She turned around and walked back into the living room, bending over to pick up a book. It was one her Father had read to her often. The elaborate drawn pictures giving life to the many stories that sat inside, waiting to be read. Maura turned the pages carefully, knowing what she was looking for.

A knight stood there, his armor gleaming in the bright sun. He held his sword triumphantly above him, hundreds of evil creatures lying slain in a pile at his feet. A golden dragon was carved into his breast plate, breathing jeweled fire. His helm casted a high shine, green feathers of a rooster fell out of the top of it, his shield sat firmly on his left arm.

"Ah… the story of the Golden Dragon. My younger brother loves him." Alice said, overlooking Maura's shoulder. Maura smiled, her finger resting on the dragon that sat in his armor. Everyone knew who the Golden Dragon was, a legend among men. So many wanted to be like him, wanted to go on adventures saving Terra like he did, slay the sudden over whelming force of Eeries that had swarmed out of the sky, casting the sunlight out with thousand of wings, their throats open and bare, mouths agape as their screams were forced out. People would drop to their knees falling victim to the Eeries that swarmed the ground, their claws slashing throats.

They were ruthless, determined to kill everyone that lived in Terra, the King's army being defeated time and time again. That is until the Golden Dragon had overcome the powerful screeches of the decaying beasts and added the King's army to victory, slaying them all. Everyone across the land of Terra praised this iron clad man but before anyone could thank him he vanished never to be seen again. How Maura wished people would look at her like they looked at the Golden Dragon, would notice her.

"It's my favorite story too." A tear fell out of Maura's eye and trickled down her cheek. She sighed heavily, closing the book and tucked it under her arm. "Can I get a few things to take back with me? So I can remember….," she trailed off her eyes falling to the cluttered floor.

"Of course Maura," Alice said softly. She tugged the book out from underneath Maura's arm, holding it for her allowing her to grab things. "We were going to wait later until the house was cleaned up all the way, but you're here now." Alice bit her lip, casting a wary eye around the place. Maura walked upstairs, getting out from under the watch full eye of Alice and headed to her bedroom. It was small, but it was hers, unlike the one back at the Isles estate. It didn't feel like hers, it just felt like a room. She walked over to her small bookshelf and grabbed her favorite books, piling them in the middle of her blanket that lay on her bed.

She didn't have very many things but she made sure to grab all of her clothes, throwing her dark green cloak over her shoulders, the wind blowing harder outside. She placed the only thing that she would consider a toy, a rugged doll that her Mother had made her. When she held it close to her chest, before placing it on the small pile, she could smell her Mother, her chest ached. She tied the ends of the blanket together, creating a small sack that she slung over her shoulder. The blonde girl walked down the hallway right about to head down stairs when she stopped, her eyes turning to look at her Father's armor that sat on its stand, dusty. She let the poorly made sack fall heavily and walked over to it, her eyes scanning over the battered plates.

Maura reached out and grabbed the sword, her face growing red with the effort it took to lift it off of its stand. Its edges were no longer sharp; dents sat heavily where it had clashed with things. Maura let it drop to the floor, crouching down next to it and turned her attention on the handle. Her Father had shown her everything about swords and armor, happy that his child had taken interest in such a thing. He had shown her how to take a handle off of a sword so you could replace the blade. Maura pulled up this knowledge, fiddling with the simple handle.

Maura grasped the pommel, unscrewing the detailed silver cap that sat there and set it aside. She slowly gripped the leather hilt, it was already worn down were her Father had once held it. The brown hilt was long enough that you could wrap both of your hands around it, giving you the ability to deliver a stronger blow if need be. Carefully she set it next to the pommel, wanting this last connection that she had with her Father to stay safe. She let out a grunt as the golden cross guard was reluctant to slide over the tang, rust from the shoulder held onto it. Finally it broke free making the girl slip, falling onto her bottom with the guard in her hand. There were nicks in this too, dark smudges over it. She ran her finger over the length of it, stopping at the curled finial, the tips sharp.

Maura left the blade sitting uselessly on the floor and reassembled the handle before tucking it into the inner pocket of her cloak. It made one side droop, weighted down. She placed her hand on the wall about to go downstairs when she looked back at the dust covered breast plate. The jeweled breath of a golden dragon that sat etched into the armor, had holes where the colorful stones had fallen out, the design no longer breathe taking.

"I'll be just like you Dad, you'll see," she said to herself before heading down stairs.

* * *

Jane's arms started to ache, holding them up, the heavy gown weighing what felt like a thousand pounds.

"Maaaa," Jane whined, throwing her head back. "Are we almost done?" The Queen smiled lovingly at her daughter, but her tone was stern.

"Almost Jane, just a few more measurements, I want you to look stunning at the ball." Jane looked down at her gown, the fabric underneath the dress made it poof out making her look like a cloud. With disappointment she realized that the gown was a little longer than she was tall. _Great I'll have to wear heels. _Not to mention the color, an awful shade of pink with white beads that trailed around it and white lace, so much lace.

"Do these really have to be here?" Jane asked, tugging on the pink bow that sat in the middle of her torso, a whole line of them going down her stomach. Amelia smacked Jane's hand away from the bow, her daughter almost ripping it off.

"Yes they do, it's a part of the gown. Plus, bows are in this season now thanks to the Queen of Aushtick who started it a few months ago."

"Great, now I'll fit right in." Jane rolled her eyes. She felt Mr. Hedren's hands grab the end of the dress and lift it up so it would end mid shin, pinning it. Jane let out a sigh of relief, air whistling through the gap of a missing tooth; hopefully she wouldn't have to wear heels.

"Oh, but I liked it longer," the Queen shot in, cocking her head to the side as she inspected Jane's dress. The Princess looked over her shoulder throwing a, _help me_, look a Vince who bit his lip trying not to laugh.

"Mother?" Jane started her mind whirling thinking of something to say to convince Amelia to let the dress stop at her shin and not past her feet.

"Yes dear?" the Queen asked, resting her hand on her swelling belly.

"Prince Barold is coming to the ball right?" The dirty blonde perked up at the name.

"As a matter of a fact he is coming." Jane tied to stop a sarcastic comment that bubbled in her chest.

"He's younger than me right?" Amelia wove her hand in the air, not understanding where this conversation was going but kept going along with it.

"Only by a year and a half Jane, it's not that bad is it?" Mr. Hedren coughed, trying to cover up a laugh, knowing what Jane was getting at.

"And you'll expect me to dance with him right?" Jane's Mother cocked her head to the side giving Jane her, _you better spit it out young lady, or so help me._ "Well, all I'm saying is, if he's younger than me, isn't he going to be shorter than me? I'm already tall for my age but you want to put me in heels that will make me even _taller._" Jane emphasized her last point. Amelia tapped her finger on her chin thinking.

"You have a point." It took every fiber in Jane to stop her from yelling in victory. "But," Jane froze, her Mother walking up to her smiling. She twirled one of Jane's many curls around her finger. "I want you to wear your formal crown, not one of these small ones." Jane bit her lip. Her formal crown always got on her nerves. The edges of it dug into her scalp making it sore and sometimes even cut her.

"Okay," Jane finally said smiling as her Mother still played with her curls. Her hand suddenly disappeared under the mass.

"What's this?" Amelia asked, holding the sloppy braid with the tattered ribbon.

"Oh… I uh… I really liked the ribbon so I tried to braid my hair and tie it with that," Jane quickly thought up, afraid what her mother would really say if she found out that a city girl shared the other half. The Queen let out a high laugh, starting to undo the ribbon, the braid falling apart.

"Oh my sweet, here, let me fix it for you." The Queen stepped around so she was standing behind her daughter. Jane stood frozen as her Mother's fingers grazed the back of her scalp, grabbing the longest section of hair that grew underneath it all and braiding it gently. The Princess closed her eyes at the feeling of her Mother's hands touch her hair. The Queen was standing close enough that Jane could smell her. It was a flowery sent that seemed to match her dark blonde hair and golden dress. "There, much better now," she said smiling, tucking the braid away. "I do like that look though," Amelia hummed in thought. The one braid made Jane's hair seem less thick and poofy from the back. "Mr. Hedren can I have some spare ribbon please?" The man scurried about, looking for some. He handed over a plan tan piece. The Queen laughed, grabbing more of Jane's hair and braiding it. "You can put your arms down now Jane."

The Princess sighed heavily, her hands clapping against her sides as they dropped. She twisted her head around trying to look at her Mother's work, which made Amelia grab her head and make it face forward again.

"When is my brother going to get here? You've been like this for so long!" this earned Jane yet another laugh from her Mother, the sound was like bird song to Jane.

"I few more months yet I think," she said, holding her hand out for another ribbon, pleased that Jane was actually allowing her to do her hair for once, always squirming away.

"Will he at least have brown hair like me Ma?" Amelia shrugged with a smile, grabbing another ribbon.

"Maybe, I don't know though. I don't think I can take care of another child with as ruthless hair as yours," Amelia said jokingly. Jane rolled her eyes letting out a,

"Moooom." The Queen laughed, tickling Jane's side.

"There let's see how it looks now?" Amelia brushed the braids down so they trailed along her back. Amelia rested a hand on her stomach, trying to quit the kicking child. The braid with the pink ribbon was the longest, the other two sitting on either side of it.

"Did it come out OK?" Jane asked, trying to look over her shoulder.

"I think so. I think I'd like for your hair to be done in a similar manner like this for the ball," Jane's Mother said. "You may change Jane and go about whatever you were doing before. I must look in on your Father and see how he is doing."

"What's wrong with Pop?" Jane asked, Angela helping her step out of the gown.

"He's been busy as of late lending…," but the Queen stopped looking at Jane's curious eyes. "He's just busy," she said, smiling trying to reassure the Princess, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "I will see you at dinner?" Amelia asked sternly, her daughter often times showing up very late with twigs in her hair and dirt smeared across her face.

"Yes Ma."

* * *

"Is that everything you want to take?" Alice asked, still holding the book in her hands.

"Yeah," Maura said, shifting the weight that rested against her back. Maura noticed that some of the books had been picked up and the back door firmly closed. "What will happen to my home?" the blonde girl asked softly. Alice rested a hand on her shoulder, steering her towards the open front door.

"Well, your parents had filed a Will. Master Isles told me so before I left to come find you," Maura kicked her foot in some dirt, waiting as Alice closed the front door, locking it with a long brown key. "They left everything to you Maura," she said, slipping the key into her pocket.

"Everything?" the little girl asked.

"Yup, when you get old enough you can even live here if you want."

"I'd like that," Maura said as she climbed up the small steps into the carriage that rested there. It wasn't as decorated as the one that they took from the castle but it was still roomy enough for more than two people. They both lurched forward as the driver snapped his whip at the horses. Maura looked out the window as she saw her home drift away. With its rickety fence that sat on the edge of their yard and yellow grass that she used to roll around with her Father in.

"We are having a feast tomorrow night in honor of your parents and the other newest children's parents. Then only if you're filling up to it," Alice said softly, grabbing the attention of the little girl. "I can take you to where the city guards buried them?" Maura glanced back out the window, her hand fiddling with the edge of her cloak, welcoming the warmth that it offered.

"Okay…" Maura didn't know what she felt any longer. There was a hole in her chest that came with the price of knowing that her parents were dead. That they would no longer offer up advice or pick her up, swinging her in the air, smiles on their faces as they heard he small girls screams of happiness. Maura felt her chin wobble at the thought. But before the tears could come she sucked in a deep breath, stopping the emotions, her other hand touching the heavy handle of her Father's sword, her mind flashing.

_He had red feathers that fell out of his helm, swooping to the side. His armor was black but shined underneath the setting sun._ She closed her eyes thinking harder. _His sword was tall and looked heavy; he had to hold it with two hands… a green jewel sat in the pummel._

Maura opened her eyes again looking out the window at the edge of the Dark Forest a new kind of heat spreading through her chest. She promised herself then, sitting across Alice who silently sat there, thinking her own thoughts being rocked by the carriage. She promised herself that she would find that man.

"Did you get enough to eat?" Alice asked suddenly, pulling Maura out of her thoughts. The sun was setting off in the distance, her late lunch still sat in her stomach.

"Yes, I did."

"Good. By the time that we get back everyone will start to be settling down, or going to bed early. Why don't you have a nice bath and then try to get some sleep?" Maura nodded, welcoming the thought of going to sleep.

They soon entered the city limits passing homes with people talking to each other, laughing and enjoying a late meal. Children ran around the carriage, trying to keep up but soon the trot of the horses was too much for their small legs so they fell behind, quickly changing their game. Maura watched them through the back window her thoughts turning to the Princess, the only person that showed any remote interest on becoming her friend. Jane had even enjoyed her silly ways, knowing the names of plants and went along with playing Knight with her. Maura turned back around, slumping in her seat. The end of her braid tickled her hand as it rested over her shoulder, the ribbon sitting there.

"_Now, no matter what we'll always be connected."_

Maura pulled at the ribbon looking back out the window. She didn't pay any attention to the buildings that passed outside, all of them blurring together into nothingness as her mind strived to stay blank, too many thoughts pushing at it, too many thoughts for an eight year old. Her hand slowly twisted the end of her braid, the ribbon tickling across her hand with each pass, it seemed to calm her and forget the ache in her heart.

The carriage came to an abrupt stop as they pulled up to the Isles estate. The entrance way was gorgeous; Maura was in such a hurry the other times that she didn't have a chance to look at it all. Trees lined the paved path that circled and lead up to the tall doors that had gleaming golden handles, the soft red of the wood making them stand out. Alice grabbed Maura's bag before the girl could and handed over the book.

As soon as they stepped foot inside the house Richard and Constance were there waiting for them. Richard rushed over, dropping to his knee, clapping a hand on her shoulder. At first look the hall seemed empty, but another glance told a different story. Kids were poking their heads over the balcony that looked over the decorated entranceway, whispering to each other. Some stood at the very back of the hall, peering around the wall, fighting in hushed whispers on who got to look next. Maura felt herself grow beat red at the special attention she was receiving.

"Maura are you alright?" Constance wasn't too far behind him. She bent over slightly to look at her, her face etched with concern.

"We were so worried." Maura felt the weight of Richards hand on her shoulder, smelling the smoky odor that wafted off of him. She carefully, not wanting to seem rude, stepped out from his hold and hefted the book up, wrapping her arms around it.

"I'm fine," already the weight of the world seemed to rest on this little girls small shoulders. "I'm just tired and want to go to sleep." Richard slowly stood up, Constance looping an arm through his.

"Alright then…" Maura followed Alice to the stairs, the other woman holding her things. With her hand resting on the railing, one foot resting on the first step Maura looked over her shoulder saying a quick, "Thank you though," and bounded up the stairs following after the other woman.

Alice set Maura's things on the bed, the springs groaning slightly at the weight.

"Well here we are, home sweet home," Alice said smiling. Maura returned it with a sad one of her own.

"Will you be alright Maura?" concern laced the light brown haired woman.

"I will be. I just want to be alone right now." Alice nodded her head walking towards the door; she stopped, giving Maura's shoulder a squeeze before leaving completely, the door clicking softly behind her. The golden haired child let out an Earth shattering sigh and walked over to the bundle, untying the massive knot. Just as she got the blanket open, there was a loud knock at her door. Maura hesitated, the second knock sounded impatient. She opened the door only to be swallowed up in a massive hug.

"Oh missy, I was so worried when you ran off like that, I thought something would come to harm you. I had to go work in the kitchens but my mind never left you, hoping and praying. I prayed to Stoerra, asking that you'd come back in one piece and here you are, not a scratch on you." Maura wrapped her arms tightly around the old woman's waist listening to her rant. Kay separated them roughly, holding Maura by the shoulders. "Don't you ever do something like that again, I was worried sick." Flour was smeared all over Kay's body, making her brown skin stand out and her wrinkles seem worse. Maura sneezed as flour snuck its way up her nose. She looked back up at Kay, a smile on her face the woman's presence putting her at ease.

"Oh look at that, now I got you all dirty." Kay licked her thumb about to put it on Maura's forehead, going to wipe away a section of flour. But Maura's eyes grew wide and she ran out of the older woman's gasp.

"Oh gods Kay, please don't!" Maura squealed as Kay chased the golden haired girl around the room, her thumb sticking out determined to get that white smudge off.

* * *

Jane finally hopped off of the pedestal, back in her normal dress again.

"Come on Vince," she said, grasping his hand again before looking around whispering so softly the man had to lean in to hear her as her eyes scanned the room, landing on Angela who stood a few feet away, talking to Mr. Hedren. _"We have super secret mission to accomplish,"_ Vince's face grew serious looking around with the Princess. They were both hunched over, forming a two person huddle. _"But first we gotta' lose the babysitter._" They both looked over their shoulders at Angela who was still distracted. _"Got any ideas?"_ Vince smirked making Jane raise her eyebrows. _"You do? Well out with it then!"_

Jane let out a high scream as her bodyguard lifted her up, throwing her onto his back, and bolting out the door against Angela's yells. Jane laughed loudly with glee, her legs wrapping around his waist, arms gripping his shoulders as she held on for dear life, her hair flying behind her with the speed of Vince's run. She looked behind her, Angela had chased after them for a few feet before slowing down to a walk, yelling for Jane to come back her right this instant. The Princess gave a whoop of joy as Vince ran on laughing happily with her.

They barged into Jane's room, the Princess slipping off of his back, slamming the door behind them as they both puffed with excitement. They strained their ears listening to hear if anyone had followed them.

"I think the coast is clear," Jane said stepping away from the door, Vince doubled over breathing heavily, just getting done running to the complete other side of the castle to Jane's tower. "Good thinking there Vince!" He smiled as she ran past him, to her desk. "Do you still take Angela's and yours mail to town on your day off?" the Princess asked, searching for a piece of paper. The silent man walked up to her handing her one, nodding at her. "Do you think maybe you could also take mine? I fear Mother wouldn't be as accepting as you are with me talking to… to… to an _orphan._" Jane shuttered at the word, hating it with every ounce of her being. _**Of course I will Kid. **_She felt Vince say.

She dipped the pen into ink, her hand hovering over the paper before inspiration hit. Jane bent over the desk, her hand a blur as she wrote out sentence after sentence. Needless to say, Jane was very late to dinner, black ink smudge across her left hand were it had rubbed against the page. She wore a sheepish smile, telling Vince to hang back not wanting the wrath of her Mother and Father to be laid on him. This was all her fault.

The dining hall was full, almost to the breaking point, the upper year Pages having returned after their winter leave, Squires trickled in as their masters came home for the warm months to visit. Their deep voices rang out through the hall, elbows hitting each other, laughing loudly as food spilled out of their mouths. Jane jutted out her jaw, walking briskly down the center aisle, feeling the stares and glances of the men in the room.

The hall grew over loud, trying to cover up the heated exchange that would go down between the Queen and the Princess, all having been witness to it before. Jane bravely stepped up the stone stairs towards the royal table, her family eating around it in front of everyone, and there was her spot next to her Mother, the plate empty, chair bare, her absence known to all. Jane slipped around the table, sliding into her chair, felling eyes flicker to her, but none dare to hold eye contact.

Jane waited for it, waited to hear what her Mother would say about her being late, with black smudges all over her hands and one even on her dress. She waited for the Queen to stand up and yell at her like she had done so many times before, embarrassing the Princess in front of everyone and then forcing her to make a formal apology to the rest of the hall.

"Mother?" Jane asked shyly. Amelia sat next to her, her crown gleaming, not a hair out of place. Her plump red lips were pressed tightly in a thin line. her face drained of all color. Her fist gripped her fork hard before she let out a shaky breath, setting it down. She grabbed her cup, taking a long drink of the wine that sat in it before turning her fierce blue eyes to her daughter.

"_How many times must I tell you to be on time Jane?_" Amelia whispered harshly. Jane looked guiltily down at her plate that reflected her sad face. _"I ask you again and again."_

"_I'm sorry Mother, I just got distracted._"

"_You're always getting distracted Jane! What will happen when you become Queen and matters will need to be faced? Will you get distracted then?"_ her voice was like acid that poured over Jane's heart. _"You're always running around, not caring for the chaos that you cause. You don't care that other people wait on you. You're selfish. Making us hunt you down like you're some sort of animal_," the Queen scoffed looking away but Jane saw it before her Mother could cover it up. Pure disappointment radiated off of the Queen.

"_I'm sorry Mother. It won't happen again._"

"That's what you said last time and the time before that." Amelia said in her normal voice. It was hard and her words clipped. Jane opened her mouth to argue but the dark blonde woman lifted her hand up. "Enough. I don't wish to speak of this anymore. Now eat something, I don't want my daughter to go to sleep on an empty stomach." And that was that. The Queen turned her attention away from her daughter and to Jane's cosine who sat across of them, engaging in conversation with her.

The Page who stood behind them silently walked up, placing the main meal on Jane's plate before melting away again. The girl sent a silent prayer of thanks to the god of life, Umar, before picking up her fork, humming as her stomach grumbled, food filling it up. The hall grew quieter as the Pages left, leaving only the Squires and their Knights there. They talked merrily with one another, clapping each other on the back when the laughing got too much and they started to choke.

_I wonder if they want to be Knights to get away from their families? _Jane thought to herself, chewing slowly as her mind turned to lesser thoughts as she ate her food. Jane could still feel the sting of her Mother's voice. Suddenly Jane lost her appetite.

"Ma…," Jane cringed slightly, pushing her luck. Amelia laughed at something her Father had said but didn't turn to look at Jane. The Princess huffed trying again, "Maaa," she dragged out. The dark blonde woman heard Jane this time, turning a sharp blue eye on her.

"Yes?" The Princess gulped at her Mother's tone.

"May I go? I want to take a bath before I go to bed…" Her Mother stared at her for a few more long moments before saying briskly,

"Very well." She turned her attention back to the King not even watching Jane leave. Gloomily Jane hopped down, her feet clicking against the floor. She understood that her Mother was angry with her for being late to dinner but she never knew what the Queen was truly feeling. One minute she's complimenting Jane and talking with her and the next she's colder than ice.

Jane's feet pounded harder against the floor as she picked up speed, her eyes stinging. The remaining people watched her sadly as she walked by; some offered her sympathetic smiles when she glanced at them. Instead of turning right, which would lead her to her tower, Jane swung left breaking into a full out sprint as tears started to fall out of her eyes. Servants gasped as they saw the crying Princess run past them. Jane took a sharp right, running outside, a massive stone archway welcoming her to the gardens.

Her feet slipped on the grass for a second before gaining purchase allowing her to run faster, farther. She wanted to forget about her Mother, wanted to forget about how she was the Princess and next in line for the throne. How she wished she just had a caring Mother and Father who weren't so busy all the time and could just pay attention to her.

Gravel crunched under her feet as she ran by statues and trees. A fountain sprayed cool mist on her as she ran by it. Jane stepped off of the path, running through some bushes, butterflies spilling out of it. They circled the running girl before disappearing into the sky. Hedges started to rise around her, leading her to the maze. She didn't stop, running to memory. A left at the little statue of the fairy, go straight until you see the apple tree's branches hang over the side of the hedge then take a right. Jane kept running, her tears making it harder to breathe.

Then finally, she broke free of the twist and turns. She slowed down, dropping to her knees in the circle clearing that sat at the heart of the maze. A massive Oak tree sat in the very center of it, its branches spread out wide hanging over the cleared area, casting the ground below it a dark color, its leaves absorbing the sun light. A small ring of water circled the tree; it glittered where the setting sun touched it.

The air was cool as the sun set behind the mountains, welcoming the night. Jane was bent over, her forehead resting in the thick grass, sobs racking her body. She could smell the damp Earth, the Oak tree groaning as wind pushed against it, the water lapping against the edge, the buzz of insects as they came over to investigate the crying girl. The noises and smells started to calm Jane and soon she was just sitting there, her eyes staring at the blades of grass that sat underneath her, her curls making a curtain around her face.

"Yeah I'm alright," Jane said her voice raspy from crying. She sat up, her legs folded underneath her. Vince was sitting next to her, his legs outstretched crossed at the ankles, his hands behind him holding him up. He was staring ahead looking at the statue that sat in a hollow that was at the base of the Oak tree, its roots growing around it, holding it in place. They both sighed at the same time; both holding each other's burdens.

Vince leaned over grabbing something that sat next to him. Without looking at Jane he held the red object out to her. _**You didn't eat much at dinner.**_ Jane grabbed the fresh apple biting into it, her missing tooth making an odd pattern in the skin of the fruit. She heard the crunch of Vince biting into one too, chewing thoughtfully. "Do you think the gods get into fights with their parents?" Vince glanced at her thinking. _**You could ask them, maybe they'll answer you.**_ Jane rolled her eyes, looking at the weathered statue of Steorra. Angela had once told her that it had been placed there when the Rizzoli's gained the throne over two hundred years ago.

Jane sighed again, moving so she was sitting on her bottom; her leg's outstretched in front of her, mirroring Vince. Jane looked down at her shoes, the pattern of stars danced around the polished materials. "Can you tell me the story of Steorra blessing Terra again? I like that one." Vince nodded, opening his mouth speaking for once. His voice was deep and gruff, but had a soft air to it.

_Long ago Terra was torn. At the age of sixteen King John Tigard was poisoned just like his parents, leaving the throne empty for two days, the next air was only thirteen years old, your great, great grandfather. Terra was on the brink of civil war, some fighting for the future King; other's saying he was too young. With Osen's forces pressing against the border of Terra, demanding war, people were scared and wanted someone old enough to understand how to be a King and save their land._

_Finally, after many discussions, a new era tolled, the time of when the Rizzoli clan took over the throne. King Rizzoli didn't even have a crown on his head when he started negotiating peace talks with Osen's King. However Osen's King denied King Rizzoli time and time again, war looking like it was going to break out. King Rizzoli had sent his army to the border, where Osen troops had been spotted marching towards the capitol. He had told them sternly that they were not to engaged just watch them as they marched to the capitol._

_When asked why his army shouldn't start fighting and defending his land the King merely replied with "I had a dream when I was five. Steorra, the goddess the night herself came to me, telling me what I should do. I merely dismissed it for I was only a child. But now everything that she had said to me is coming true. So I am doing her bidding."_

_Many were angry with the boy and tried to force his hand, some even went behind his back ordering the army to engaged, but each time King Rizzoli would find the culprit and throw them in jail for disobeying the King's order. Many asked what they should do now and simply the King would tell each person, "We must wait five days. And on the fifth night look up to the heavens and watch as Steorra blesses me and my future children."_

_Again he was scolded and Terra grew more violent. Soon the arguments in the inns turned to violent fights, broken windows and burnt fields. Many begged the King to give his people hope by not allowing the Osen army to invade so far into their land. But the King held strong, looking at the night sky each night, waiting, prying to the goddess._

_With the setting sun on the fifth day, King Rizzoli walked out to a balcony looking over the stretch of land that sat underneath the palace. Osen's army shined as the suns orange glow reflected on their armor. He looked off to the left and spotted his own army marching a mile away from them, watching them but not engaging like he had asked._

_The Osen army had marched long and hard so they planned to set up camp underneath the walls of the capitol, planning for the attack in the morning. The King didn't leave his perch, he just sat there watching as the army's set up camp, and their fires flickered in the dark. Then there was a flash of light, some said it was the color of blue others the color of fire. But the King wrote it was a dark purple with a green edge around it. The flash mad the gleaming stars disappear with its bright light. From his balcony he heard the Osen army yell in astonishment, all having heard the tail of the crazy King who refused to fight saying a goddess was going to bless him and his children._

_King Rizzoli watched as the light got brighter and brighter before it crashed through the roof in the throne room. The King ran downstairs, many running behind him as they headed towards the empty room. When they opened the doors it was to come to a destroyed room, fire burned against the walls, beams of wood and stone littered the grown. But no one seemed to care as they stepped into the room all looking at the crater that sat where the throne used to be._

_The Goddess Steorra was standing in the middle of it facing them. The King later on described her as being a head taller than any man. Her dark skin shined with the lights from the fires that sat around her. Her eyes were wide and open, solid white just like her hair, which was stick straight and cut along a strong jaw line that flared out, her nose a striking feature that made full lips look soft to the touch. She had a silk gown on, it seemed to twinkle and change colors, as it flowed off of her body pooling around her feet spreading out around her, as if casting the room into the night._

_When she spotted the King that's when the most breath taking smile broke out on her face. It made all the men drop to their knees, save the King. All of them bowed low, their foreheads touching the stone floor in awe of the beauty of the Goddesses smile. "Benedetto," she spoke using the Kings first name like they were old friends. Her voice was deep and it ranged out around the room, some even covered their ears the divine sound too much for them."My sweet boy, you did as I asked of you." _

_King Rizzoli stepped forward as she rose her hand, asking him to come closer. He walked until the edge of her dress prevented him from going any more. She smiled again, lifting her hand up, lifting King Rizzoli off of his feet with the aid of nothing. He floated over her dress until he was face to face with the Goddess. Her white eyes stared at him un-blinking. _

"_I bless the Rizzoli clan, giving them the gift of protection against poison and infection." King Rizzoli's hands rose by themselves, the Goddesses magic keeping him afloat. In his right hand she placed a large purple stone that shined. "For the ruler of Terra, may they be the best among any before them." And in his left she placed a smaller purple stone. "For the ruler's partner, if they wish to have one. May they be heard loudly and listened to with just as much respect as Terra's ruler."_

_Your great, great grandfather was looking at the stones in his hands and wasn't watching the Goddess any longer so he didn't see the smile on her face drop. Her hand striked out, grasping his throat, making the men behind the King gasped and stepped forward as if to attack her, but a flicker of her eyes made them freeze. King Rizzoli's hand held onto the stones tightly as a snake slithered its way out of the sleeve of the Goddess dress, wrapping itself around her wrist, hissing as it tasted the boys fear. It coiled around her arm before springing forward its teeth stabbing into his cheek. He cried out, feeling the venom set fire to his veins. The snake fell to the floor writhing in pain before bursting into flames._

_Steorra then let go of King Rizzoli's throat letting him float back to the cobble stone ground at the edge of her dress. He collapsed to the floor, gasping as the venom raced through his body making it harder to breathe. "By the gods she killed him, she has killed our King," the men shouted. They were all too busy starring down at the writhing boy that they did not see her smile once again, looking down on him._

_With a flash of light that blinded the men, she was gone, going back to her throne that sat in the night sky and when the cowering men could see once again the boy was breathing normally, his eyes wide, the snake's venom not killing him, the stones protecting him._

_The put the blessed stones into the crowns that your Mother and Father now wear, no harm will come to them be it the form of poison or infection. They soon started to call your great, great grandfather the serpent for the two dotted scar on his cheek he wore with pride. Terra rejoiced that their King was blessed by Steorra and the Osen army was stunned at the King's braveness and devotion to Terra's gods. The King of Osen came to the palace and they talked for many hours, peace between the two lands ever since._

Jane sat there, starring at the statue of Steorra, silence ringing out into the now dark clearing. She looked up at the twinkling lights of the stars. Patterns jumped out at her, each telling a different story. Jane yawned loudly, her eyes drooping already way past her normal time to go to sleep. Vince stood up, groaning as he stretched his hands above his head. He bent over, opening his arms up at Jane.

Although Jane was eight years old and came up to the man's chest she eagerly accepted him lifting her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. He placed a hand on her back, rubbing smooth circles there, his other arm under her bottom supporting her. Jane sighed happily, as her breathes becoming heavier. Vince waited until the Princesses breathes were even and deep, her arms slack around his neck before he started walking slowly back to the castle.

* * *

***sigh***

**The relationship that I'm creating with Vince and Jane are just giving me so many feels, I can't.**

**Take Care my loveys! -FTP **


	4. A moment

**Today, we lost an amazing man,**

**Lee Thompson Young.**

**I would just like to send my condolences to everyone that has been affected by his death and even more so to his family.**

**May he rest in peace.**

**He will be greatly missed.**

**I would like to have a moment of silence for him.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**


	5. Chapter 4

**This chapter is dedicated to Lee.**

* * *

The trees that sat inside of Dark Wood were tall and ancient. Moss clung to their bark, tiny animals scurrying around at their gnarled roots. The branches that jutted out of the ancient plants seemed to look like broken arms and grasping hands in the cool light of the moon. Plants littered the ground, their leaves rustling against each other as a breeze penetrated through the canopy of twisted branches and massive trunks of trees. A deer was grazing in a grassy area, such a rare find in the massive forest.

Its tail flicked lazily as it tugged against the plant life there, satisfying its hunger. It looked up, scratching its horns against a tree, leaving deep grooves there, marking its territory. As the breeze blew through the area it snapped its head around, ears twitching, cool liquid dripping off of its nose as the breeze blew through the dark forest. Its muscles tensed as the breeze died down, making the forest grow silent again. Suddenly the animal bolted, jumping over fallen logs, something spooking it.

Its tall horns scrapped against a tree, making sections of bark fly off, landing behind the animals wake. It started to veer left, but there was a loud scream, white powder thrown up in the air making the animal rear up, turning around. As it ran its back legs kicked against the forest floor, dirty flying up, hitting bushes that clung to trees and the ground. Carelessly the deer's hooves crushed plants as it ran.

As the deer crashed through the forest its sensitive ears didn't pick up the subtle sound that was incasing it; a deep slithering sound, something sneaking its way across the ground, coming from all directions towards the animal. It tried to turn right, but again something yelled; it was a high voice, sounding like it was coming from a small child. The deer inhaled the white powder as it ran, its movements started to get wild, limbs landing everywhere its head lolling around.

It tore through the underbrush, falling into a large meadow. The outer edge of the grassy area was lined with trees, all perfectly spaced apart. The deer stood up on shaky limbs, its breath coming heavily as it tried to walk, a noise flittering through the trees as whatever was chasing it ran around the edge of the grassland. Its sloppy foot placing crushed the tall purple flowers that dotted the area. Finally the deer collapsed in the middle of the wild grass, panting, head moving around, eyes wide.

At the farthest point away from the fallen animal a small creator jumped up on top of an old stomp. The thing clapped its hand together, the beads in its long dark green hair clicked together as it hopped from one foot to the other; its moving limbs thinner than sticks. It opened its mouth, reviling small yellow teeth as it clicked excitedly, staring at the fallen animal that had wrecked havoc against the forest.

The slithering sound was getting louder, closer to the grassy area. The creature on the stump pulled a brown twig from its belt and put it to its lips, holding it off to the side, its hooked nose getting in the way. With a deep breath it blew out against the stick, a high note coming out of it. Its fingers glided over the carved holes of the crudely made flute, coming up with an upbeat haunting tune.

The drugs in the deer's system made it unable to move, forcing it to stay on the ground, its head rolling around, eyes wide as they stared at the little creature dance on the stump to the tune it made up. All around the edge of the meadow, the grass started to move and part to the side, allowing the slithering noise through. The tall flowers jiggled as whatever sneaked by brushed against them. Sensing danger the deer tried to get up, tried to move but couldn't.

Finally the grass opened up, the things that slithered all around the deer slowly wrapped around the animal. Thorns from the moving vines dug into its flesh. It thrashed its legs wildly as the vines wrapped around its body, covering it with green. The deer called out loudly into the night, its cries making birds fly out of the nearby trees. The creature stopped playing its flute, giving another series of clicking noises as it watched the plant pull on the deer. With a high squeal it jumped off of the stump, landing on its knees roughly, before standing up and running back into the forest, the deer's calls of pain stopping abruptly as the plant ripped it apart, dragging its pieces of flesh in different directions, staining the meadow with red.

* * *

"The Wye are acting up again?" asked a light voice from behind Jade. He was leaning against a rock wall, the entrance to a large cave, looking out over Dark Wood, moonlight making it look haunted. The woman stood next to him, crossing her arms as they listened to an animal call out, its pained voice stopping suddenly, casting the area into silence. Jade glanced at her, his hair looking like slowly burning coals.

"They've been acting strange recently. They are attacking animals more and more for little offense against the forest." He shook his head sadly, thinking about the four animals they heard calling out last night.

"You're sure we'll still be safe here?" she asked, turning to face him, gesturing to the light flickering out of the cave that they had made into their home.

"As long as the little ones don't wonder off, we'll be OK," he spoke softly, his hair shifting to a brighter red. She grabbed her long dreaded hair and tied it together with a leather thong. She sighed, letting her hands drop against her sides, looking back towards the forest.

"Nera!" a voice called. A blue haired girl slowly stepped out of the depths of the cave. She fiddled with the handle of a small sword that sat at her waist, mirroring Jade. A black cat sat calmly on top of her shoulder, its tail wrapped around her neck, steadying itself. "Are we going to head over to Evelina soon?" Nera smiled softly at her, glancing back out to the woods.

"Almost Diana, will you tell everyone else?" The blue haired girl clicked her tongue slightly, making the cat jump down, running back into the cave, making Nera chuckle.

"After all these years, I still don't know how you get Alba to listen to you." Diana turned her attention to the forest like Nera and Jade, a haunting melody starting in the woods.

"I'll make sure to tell everyone not to go into the woods alone and to leave more sweets for the Wye." Diana's voice was soft, all too aware of what was going on in the forest at that moment. Jade sighed heavily.

"What's making them act up all of a sudden?" Nera turned her golden eyes on him, speaking just as soft as everyone else.

"Something's on the wind." Diana and Jade shared a look with each other, weary of the news Nera knew of.

"Did you see something Nera?" The other girl asked. Nera shook her head, her dreads swinging.

"I'm not sure. Everything is…," she paused, looking for a word. "Foggy right now; I have seen glimpses of something though and I can tell you it's not pretty." The sounds of a dying animal echoed towards them, bouncing off of the cliff that their cave sat in. Jade shivered, hearing the cries cut out as the animal met its doom, the flute sounds cutting out also.

"By Umar's tears, whatever is coming has the Wye spooked." Diana shuddered, turning on her heel and headed back into the cave without another word, not wanting to hear another animal die. Jade watched as Diana left, her movements slow and relaxed; a confident air around her.

"Was it so long ago that she was only four and she had a normal hair color?" Nera laughed softly, leaning against the other side of the cave a few feet away from Jade, moonlight falling on her dark skin making her glow, standing out against the shadows.

"I don't really think you have room to talk," the girl shot back playfully. He smiled, but it was small and seemed forced. "I still can't believe Sam is turning fourteen next week." Nera said shifted so the dagger that sat across her lower back wasn't poking the rock. The woman glanced at Jade out of the corner of her eye, watching him look down at his hands. "Are you going to come with us tonight?"

The boy sighed, looking up again, his hand resting against the hilt of his sword. A cloud moved in front of the bright moon, casting them in the dark, stars twinkling brightly in the absence of light. "Jade?" Nera asked her voice high and light. She was met with silence as the red head boy continued to look up at the stars, a struggled going on inside of him. "Please?"

"Yeah… I'll come with you tonight." Nera sighed happily, smiling. Jade had missed out on the last three trips to the city, when they left to search for scraps. He was going through something but refused to talk about it. She started to walk back into the warmth of the cave but stopped, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she said softly, lingering for a moment before walking all the way back into the cave. Jade heard her call excitedly to the other people that they shared the massive cave with. He sighed again, his hair going to a bright orange as the clouds parted, showing the moon again.

"_Steorra bless my grief, make the ache in my heart lighten so I can go on,_" he whispered, never dropping his gaze from the moon. Stars twinkled, accepting his prayer and passing it along to the goddess. He sighed, turning and walked back into the bright cave, joining the group of beggar children before they went out.

* * *

Jane grumbled, something pulling her out of her sleep. She heard the sound of something closing softly come from the room next to her bedchambers. The Princess sat bolt upright, whipping her head around, looking for the noise.

"Vince!" she called, scared that someone had snuck into her room. But the man's head peeked around the open door that led to the rest of her room, a smile on his face reassuring her. "Oh, it was just you," Jane sighed in relief. She swung her legs around, her feet touching the cold stone underneath. Through the glass of her balcony doors she spotted the sky, a soft grey welcoming her, the sun just starting to rise, "What are you doing up so early? You'd think on your day off you'd want to sleep in," Jane asked, stretching. She walked into the sitting room that was adjacent to her bed chambers to talk face to face with Vince. He opened another drawer to her small desk as his other hand held up a small envelope explaining his presence. "Oh," Jane spoke up, dashing back to her bedroom, leaving her bodyguard still searching.

She shoved her hand into her pillowcase pulling out a thick envelope, Maura's name neatly written on top of it. "Is this what you're looking for? I hid it, just in case." Vince smiled, grabbing the offered envelope and placed it with the others. Jane looked down at her bare feet, her hands fidgeting. "Vince…" The man stopped what he was doing, turning to look down at the small girl questioningly. "Do you remember how I sort of knighted Maura? I was wondering if maybe…" Jane trailed off, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. Vince laughed gruffly, shyness not normally an attribute he saw in the otherwise loud Princess. _**What is it kid?**_ "Do you think you could help Maura?!" Jane said it in a loud rush of words. She glanced at the door on the farthest side of the room, hoping she hadn't woken Angela.

"When you go into town I mean, could you buy her things that she may need? I can give you the money and you can buy them and secretly give them to her?" Jane looked up at Vince, hope in her eyes. The man tugged on the end of his goatee, curling it with his finger. "You went through training! You'll know exactly what she'll need!" Vince squinted his eyes, still pulling on his goatee, thinking. "Vinceeee," Jane dragged out, the man's silence for once getting to Jane. Her bodyguard held up his hand, walking over to the small desk, grabbing a pen and paper jotting things down.

Jane ran over, standing on her tip toes to look over his broad shoulder, trying to see what he was writing. Before she could ask what he was writing, he folding it up, tucking it into his pocket. _**She'll only need a few things. **_Vince grabbed the other envelopes. _**I'll spend today with her showing her the exercises she'll need to start doing every day.**_

Jane gave him a gapped tooth grin, slamming her small body into his, hugging him. "You'll help her?!" Jane was worried that Vince wouldn't, his silence making her fear the worse. Vince laughed, placing his hand on her small shoulder. _**Of course. Someone will have to replace me when I retire.**_

* * *

Maura's back was against the wall, a heavy book in her lap, the early sun giving light to her bedroom. As always the chubby girl had woken with the sun, yawning loudly, stretching her hands towards the ceiling. She had poked her head outside, but the hallway was empty, everyone else still sleeping, so she had turned to her books, engrossing herself in their knowledge. The golden haired child was unsure how much time went by, cool spring wind rattled against her window, demanding entry. She heard birds chirping outside followed by the calls from a waking up city. She jumped when someone knocked on her door, opening it.

"Rise and shi…." Kay's voice died as she spotted Maura sitting up, looking at her. "Well, would you look at that, up _and _reading a book," Kay wheezed a laugh. "Missy if all the other kids were like you I wouldn't look like this," Kay laughed again, gesturing to her wrinkled face.

"What do you mean?" Maura asked confused, her eyes following Kay as she moved into the room, closing the door behind her.

"There are only a handful of kids up," Kay said. "The rest of the house is still asleep." She sighed, possibly thinking about the rest of her day. "But I'm here to let you know that breakfast is at the ninth bell." Kay smiled softly at the girl.

"Oh, okay." The blonde child turned her attention back to her book, distracting herself. Kay left Maura alone, but stuck her head back into the room saying,

"That's in thirty minutes." She chuckled as Maura groaned, closing her book getting up to get dressed. Hearing the door click behind her Maura pulled out her clothes. Her Mother had always begged her to wear more feminine clothes, but Maura felt happy as she slipped the trousers, letting a soft shirt fall over her bare torso. She felt comfortable in these clothes, her Father always asking her to wear them when he asked for her help outside.

She was in the middle of braiding her hair as she heard the sound of thunder, feet pounding against the hard floors, everyone eager to get to breakfast before it was all gone. Just as Maura tied the ribbon around her hair she heard the bell in the city start to ring, alerting everyone of the hour. Maura let everyone run down to the dining hall; she took comfort in being alone.

She slipped out into the hallway when she figured everyone was already down there. Her soft foot falls echoed around the massive hallway. She looked up curiously at paintings that hug on the walls and in haled deeply when she passed a pot of flowers, their fragrance making her smile. She was stepping down the stairs, heading towards the dining hall, when she spotted Richard talking to someone. Her foot hit the floor as she stared at the back of the man he was talking to.

"Ah, here she is," Richard called at Maura, smiling. Maura grinned when Vince turned around. She ran up to him, wrapping her arms around him, feeling his hand rest on her back, hugging her back.

"What are you doing here Vince!?" She was excited to see him, Jane's personal bodyguard coming to see her made her mind race with the reasons why.

"He wishes to take you out to breakfast in the town on the Princess orders," Richard spoke up. His face flashed something when he spoke of the Princess but he quickly schooled his features. Maura looked up at Vince, both sharing a smile. "But I was just telling him of your schedule today. Are you still willing to come to the feast for your Mother and Father?" Richard asked this last part softly, not wanting to upset Maura. The blondes face grew hard, a reminder of why she was in this house.

"Yes," she said quickly.

"All right then. Normally after breakfast everyone does there chores and then whatever they want, but I'll let you go with Vince today." Richard smiled, shaking the taller man's hand.

"Thank you Mr. Isles," Maura said politely, running to the door, waiting on Jane's bodyguard. Vince said his farewell before following Maura outside, the wind picking up. The sun was shining but there was a bite to the air. Maura however was running around Vince, excitement running through her veins.

"Will Jane be there?" Vince shook his head. "But are we going to see her today?" Another head shake. Maura stopped running, falling in step with Vince. "Oh, so we really are just going to breakfast?" Vince smiled a twinkle in his eye as he looked down at her shaking her head. Maura's eyebrows knitted together, confused. "Then what are we doing?" Vince didn't answer this time, steering her away from the city and Isles estate.

Maura could hear the call of children as they ran around with each other, eager to play before their time was taken away from them by going back to their lessons tomorrow. Maura had always wished she went to a public place, were other children were. But her Mother and Father had always hired a single teacher just for Maura, teaching her all of her subjects. She would sit there absorbed in whatever he was saying but often times she found herself looking out the window, watching children run by.

Maura looked over her shoulder as people walked by them and towards the center of the city, talking excitedly about something. As her and Vince walked away from the capitol of Terra, Maura noticed bright purple flags, flapping against the buildings. They had three large golden rain drops on them. The streets were dotted with a deep blue from paint, children ran by them, screaming loudly as small colored flags whipped behind them. Maura knew what today was, everyone knew.

Vince turned sharply, cutting between two houses into an alleyway, pulling Maura out of her thoughts. The blonde looked around the small area. Boxes lined the walls, along with piles of trash, waiting to be picked up. Maura skipped, trying to catch up with Vince, his long stride making it hard for her to keep up. "Vince where are we going?" Maura asked, but still the man didn't answer, he just kept walking. The alleyway opened up to a brick wall that stretched between the two buildings that stood on either side of Maura and Vince. She glanced at him as he walked over to a coroner. Maura looked behind her as she heard a skittering noise and when she looked back at the wall she found herself alone.

"Vince!" She called out, confused. There was nowhere for him to go. The tall man seemed to melt out of the wall making Maura's eyes go wide. He waved his hand making her fallow him. The brick wall was resting awkwardly so it sat a few feet back from the building allowing for a small gap. Maura pushed through coming to a stop. Vince was walking through a clear cut field that sat behind the wall and buildings, hidden. It was slanted, the left sloping up into a hill.

Maura took a step forward as Vince stopped in front of a tall beam that stood out of the ground two other thinner beams crossed over the top of it. The Dark Woods trees jutted out of the ground on the farthest side away from Maura, making people weary of entering this field. She walked over to him as he started to speak.

"Jane wanted me to help you. No one comes back unless to take care of it." Maura stood there watching as Vince unhooked his sword, laying it on the ground next to a book, a brown bag, and two long staffs. The tall beam had just recently been placed there, fresh dirt still resting against its base. Maura stared as he lifted his outer tunic over his head, letting it fall into a heap on the ground.

"You're going to help me? With becoming a knight?" Vince smiled, nodding his head and started to stretch.

"Copy me." Maura mirrored him, groaning as unfamiliar muscles were stretched. Vince stopped stretching, fixing Maura's form adding in points that she should focus on. "Maura, training to become a Knight is going to take up all your time and it will take years for you to even be considered a Knight; even then you're not getting your shield." Maura puffed out her chest, looking Vince straight in the eye.

"I will get me shield," she snapped, fire starting to burn through her. Vince raised his hands laughing softly.

"I'm not trying to discourage you Maura; I'm just laying everything out." Maura stared at him for a minute longer, determination flickering in her eyes. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Right," Vince nodded his head. He started to jog away, looking at Maura over his shoulder. She quickly ran after him.

Vince's strides were longer than hers, making her work extra hard to keep up with him as he ran around the perimeter of the field. Her legs screamed in protest as they ran up the hill. The grass was long here, the dirt soft under their feet. Maura panted as they reached the top, still running. She slowed down after the first lap expecting him to stop, but he didn't he kept running, breathing normally while Maura was breathing heavily.

Maura has been considered chubby her whole life, spending all of her time absorbed with books or listening to her father tell her stories as he worked outside. She had spent all her life alone, no other children to run around with, her muscles never got used to such a high demand. She was sweating heavily by the third lap, Vince finally stopping. She threw her head back, sucking in air, her legs starting to feel light and wobbly.

"Don't think you're done yet." He laid down on his back, Maura doing the same still trying to catch her breath. He crossed his arms and sat up with a rush of air, his elbows hitting his bent knees. Maura barely was able to touch her elbows to her knees, her stomach muscles groaning at the process. For every three that Vince did Maura only did one, her small body unable to keep up with the demand that was needed of it. They did a series of more complex workouts that had Maura panting, her limbs feeling like jelly.

Maura's eyes widened as he jumped up, grabbing one of the cross beams and pulled himself up, his arm muscles bulging. Maura jumped, trying to grab the other beam, her finger tips brushing the piece of wood, but no actually being able to fully grasp it. She stared at it, glancing at Vince who kept bobbing up and down, sweat trickling down his brow. Maura took a few steps back before bolting, jumping at the last second. Her hands wrapped around the beam, her body swinging forward. She grunted heavily, her arms straining to pull herself up. Finally, her whole body shaking with the effort, her chin touched the beam.

She let go landing heavily on the ground staring up at the sky her whole body already starting to ache. Vince's face appeared over her looking odd upside down.

"You're done for the day." Maura sat up, slowly nodding her head. That wasn't so bad and soon, she knew she would get used to the routine. Vince sat down, digging around in a sack that was sitting next to the book and two staffs. "Eat," was all he said handing over a bundle to Maura. Her stomach growled loudly, the sun was almost at its highest point, soon the bells would ring. She had forgotten to eat, too caught up with the excitement of the morning events. She bit into the food, humming as she let the flavors flow through her mouth.

"What are the staffs for?" Vince glanced at them as he ate his food thoughtfully.

"Next week," was all he said. "It's almost noon, we need to head back." He stood up, stretching, Maura slowly getting to her feet, feeling sore and dirty.

* * *

Jane stood in the middle of her sitting room, putting in her normal braid. After a second thought she put in the other two also, liking the feeling of having less hair. She didn't hear the person enter the room, nor heard them sneaking up on her, her attention solely on her hair. She didn't worry about anyone coming in and attacking her, Angela was on the other side of the room, a careful eye on her while Vince was in town. But she let out a loud scream as the person grabbed her picking her up and started to tickle her.

"Pa stop, stop!" she screamed, breathless as her Father refused to stop tickling her. She panted, her laughs hurting her sides as finally the King set her down. She grinned at him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hey there Janie," he ruffled her hair as she looked up at him.

"I've barley seen you all weeeeek," she complained. Frank smiled sadly, hand rubbing against his beard. _Has it always been that grey?_ Jane thought.

"I know and I'm so sorry. I've been very busy doi-" Jane cut him off, finishing his sentence for him.

"Doing King stuff. Yeah I know, you're always doing King stuff." The King smiled, looking up at Angela, who stood in the corner, watching Jane and Frank embrace.

"Angela," his tone was hard but had softness to it.

"Your Majesty," Angela said, curtsying low to him. The King looked back at his daughter who was glancing at the exchange between her Father and Angela, always noticing the tension.

"Jane do you know what today is?" Jane looked up at him, thinking. The Kings dark brown eyes twinkled as he watched his eldest think, trying to remember what the day meant for Terra. Suddenly the young girls eyes lit up, remembering.

"Is today the day?!" she asked, slowly starting to grin.

"Yes," the King said, grinning back at his daughter. She let go of him jumping back, throwing her arms in the air, running in a small circle.

"YES!" she was yelling, excitement coursing through her veins.

"Jane?" she stopped, looking at her Father. "I was eight, just like you are, when my Father let me help him predict the spring rains," he paused, letting Jane's mind catch up. For the past five years Frank had allowed Jane to accompany him to the tallest tower in the castle, but had always forced her to stay in the room, never allowing her to come outside and see how the King predicts when the rains will come.

"I get to help you?! Actually go outside with you!?" Her Father nodded his head, white teeth flashing as he smiled. Jane ran in a circle again, yelling with excitement.

"Hopefully the Rain Festivals will start soon then. I can see the city is already starting to decorate." Angela said smiling as Jane looked at her.

"Pa! Can we go down into Evelina for them?! Like we did when Frankie was born?" Frank tugged on his beard.

"Maybe, I'm not sure." Jane groaned.

"Pa, it's my favorite festival! Plus, like Ma is always saying 'You must always make yourself known and present with the people of Terra.' If we go down into the city we accomplish all of that!"

"We shall see. But," he paused, thinking. "I think we might." Jane jumped, wrapping her arms around her Father.

"Yes, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she was speaking so fast her words were coming out all jumbled. "Do you think we could go to Constance and Richards's house too?!" Jane looked up at the King with eager eyes.

"I'm sure they'll be at the festival too Jane," King Francesco eyed his daughter, picking up on more than her excitement of going to go see family friends or the Rain Festivals. "Why else would you like to go into the city Jane?" The small brunette shuffled her feet, her hand going up to twist a wild curl. Her Father looked up at Angela who smiled softly. "You can tell me. What have I missed? Have you met a boy?" Frank asked playfully, sitting down in a chair.

"Ugh, no! Gross Dad!" Jane faked throwing up, her face disgusted. The King let out a chuckle asking through his laugh,

"Then what?"

"When Constance and Richard came they brought a girl with them, do you remember her, Maura?" Jane looked at Frank, hopeful that he would.

"Hmm, I think we talked about her for a little bit," he said, looking around, trying to remember back to yesterday, other matters already occupying his mind.

"Well, when you adults, left to go do adult stuff. We went and played in the gardens," Jane said, clasping her hands together. She was always stuck in the castle by herself. Only Vince willing to do the things she liked and spend time with her. Although it was his job, she took comfort in it, needing that attention from an adult desperately. Her Mother gave it to her, but it was in a selective way, only complimenting her when Jane was doing something the Queen wanted.

"Oh, you made a friend?" the King asked, happy for his daughter.

"She's amazing Pa!" Jane looked at him, smiling remembering Maura's corky ways. "She could name all of the plants and trees and animals and the type of clouds that were in the sky and why the wind was blowing a certain way an-" Frank cut her off, stopping her rant with a grin.

"Well, why don't you invite her to the castle then? Spend more time with her?" Jane's features darkened, having already thought plenty of times about this.

"As much as I would like that Father, I don't think Ma would agree to it." Frank raised his eyebrows at his daughters tone.

"Oh? And why is that?" Jane crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side, like the answer was obvious.

"Pop, you of all people know how Ma treats the people from Evelina. Like they're only there for her enjoyment and nothing else." Frank rubbed the back of his head, knowing how his wife acted and saddened by knowing that Jane too picked up on that. "Plus, when I told Ma about Maura she didn't even seem to care." Jane shook her head, looking out one of the windows that lined the stone walls in the sitting room. Frank slapped his hands on his thighs, standing up.

"Well, you have my permission to invite her up for a visit." The brunette girl glanced at her Father. "If you don't feel comfortable with inviting her for a normal visit, why don't you invite her to the Ball? I'm sure your Mother will be too busy to, uh," he paused, trying to word what he was saying right, not wanting to hurt Jane's feelings. But luckily for him Jane picked up on what he was trying to say and jumped over the touchy subject of the Queen.

"Can I really invite Maura!?"

"I shall have a royal invitation sent out to her when we send out the rest if you want."

"But the Ball isn't until forever!" Jane sighed, wanting to see her friend. She then remembered the letter that she had sent with Vince. Hopefully Maura would reply soon.

"It's not that far away Jane." The King smiled, standing up. "Come, let us eat something and then we should head to the tower. I'm sure the people are already gathering in the square." Jane slipped her hand into the Kings, walking with him out of her room. She looked over her shoulder, waving goodbye to Angela who smiled back. The hairs on the back of Jane's neck rose as she felt someone fall into step behind them.

Her Father's bodyguards always fascinated her. There were two of them, walking briskly behind them, their eyes sweeping around, always looking for a threat. They were dressed in solid black, their feet barley making any noise against the ground as they crossed one of the bridges. Jane turned back around as her Father opened a door, stepping through, and never letting go of her hand.

Amelia stood in the center of the room, Frankie giggling happily on her hip, playing with a lock of her hair. Her stomach looked massive in the dress she wore that day. As soon as the blonde boy spotted his Father and sister he shouted happily, squirming out of his Mothers hold.

"Danie!" he shouted, having trouble with his J's. Jane grinned at her brother and hugged him, the King smiled as Amelia came over, her hand resting on her stomach, calming the kicking child.

"Ah, I see you were able to wake Jane. She was rather reluctant when I went." Jane grumbled, her brother getting distracted and ran off to go play with a toy.

"Ma, I got up when you woke me up. You just left so you weren't able to see." Jane walked over to the table, pulling out a chair, eager to eat. She heard her Father and Mother talking quietly behind her, but she didn't pay them any attention, her Mother ruining her mood. She was still upset at her, Jane's feelings barley staying hidden.

They ate happily, Frankie finally understanding how to use utensils was talking to himself as he scooped up food. Amelia sat across form Jane, keeping a careful eye on her youngest. Frank sat at the head, eating silently; some papers were around him, demanding his attention. Jane ate in a rush, hoping to speed up time.

She pushed her plate away from her, looking eagerly at her Father, half of his plate still full of his late breakfast; Jane's foot clicked against the ground as she waited, trying to withhold her excitement. Frank glanced at his daughter who was practically bursting to leave and climb the tower. Teasing Jane a little bit he yawned loudly, stretching his hands over his head.

"Maybe I should take a nap, I'm pretty tired." Jane's face dropped before she quickly schooled it.

"If you think you need one Pa," her voice was laced with politeness, trying not to show her disappointment. Frank laughed, her Mother gave her a surprised smile at Jane's attitude. Outside Jane heard the city bells start to ring. She silently counted them to herself. _Eleven._ The King stood up, his bodyguards stepping forward silently as he reached out helping Jane out of her chair.

"Oh!" Amelia said, worry in her voice. "Please be careful Jane, I hate to think of something happening to your Father while you're up there." Jane stiffened, saying through forced teeth.

"Don't worry, Ma, we'll be safe." Frank squeezed Jane's hand trying to soften the sting of the Queen's words. As they walked away from the room where they had eaten their breakfast, Jane grew more and more excited. The walk to the tallest tower was long, having to go to the other side of the Rizzoli castle. Servants bowed low to them as they passed and a few wished the King luck. He would smile back at them, acknowledging that they spoke to him, unlike Jane's Mother who would merely nod her head, acting as if they weren't there.

The King stopped in front of an old wooden door, the metal on it was a dark red with rust, showing just how long it sat here. When this tower was first built, when the Kingdom of Terra spanned across the whole world, the King then made sure no one cleaned the tower, saying it ruined the magical properties it possessed. With a loud groan the door swung open showing a steep spiral staircase, cobwebs sticking to it, dust covering everything. The metal railway that sat on the outside of the stairs looked frail and unable to hold you if you were to suddenly lose your footing.

The King allowed Jane to start the climb first, his hands out as always, ready to catch his daughter if she started to fall. Jane carefully placed one foot in front of the other, slowly circling around the tower. She tried not to look down into the slits of the railing, showing how high they had gone but she couldn't help it. Her eyes focused on the view down. They had been climbing for about five minutes and she could just barely make out the bottom of the tower, a small circle. But still they climbed.

Finally, breathing heavily they reached the first floor on the tower. Jane stepped aside allowing Frank to walk by her. The room had no furniture, but a single lit torch sat against the wall. Jane had always wondered how this was always lit for the King allowed no one up here and had the only key. Five barrels lined the walls, their lids closed tightly; hiding what was inside of them. The brunette's eyes were drawn to a stone cylinder that rose from the floor to the ceiling. Jane had seen the cylinder before and had watched as her Father had poured mixtures of powders into the five slopped slots that sat around the stone thing. But today he waved her over.

"There's no need to stand back today, you're helping me." Jane grinned, running up to her Father who stood by the barrels and started to take the lids off of them. Jane grunted as she helped him. He could have done it on his own but he let her help, seeing the look of wonder on her face as she looked inside.

Deep red stones that flickered sat in the barrel. They were crushed to small chunks, looking like they would cut you if you touched them. Prying the lid off of the next barrel, Jane quickly looked in, eager to see what this one held; deep blue stones that too were crushed. The third barrel held crushed greenish brown stones. The forth white stones and finally they worked off the lid of the fifth barrel.

"Black?" Jane asked confused.

"You sound surprised," he said, smiling as he grabbed a metal scoop.

"I am. All of these other stones are pretty; I was expecting purple or something, not black." The King gestured for Jane to come up to the first one, handing the much too large scoop to her.

"At first, when my Father showed it to me, I too was surprised. But it made sense after he explained it to me." Frank guided Jane's hand as she carefully lifted the metal object up, its insides gleaming red. "These stones represent the elements."

"Red for Fire?" Jane asked. Frank nodded his head as they dumped the stones in one of the slots. She looked carefully as they fell inside of the cylinder with a twinkling noise. The slop was a slight red, centuries of red stone running across it.

"Blue for Water," Jane and Frank said at the same time, the stones falling into the cylinder with the red ones.

"White for Air." The twinkling noise these stones made were a lighter tone, making Jane smile.

"Green for Earth." Jane quickly dumped the stones, running to the last barrel, eager to see what this one represented.

"And black," Frank said. Jane scooped, waiting for her Father to speak but he didn't. As soon as the object touched the stones Jane froze. She felt a tingling current pass through her body, almost painful. It came to a stop at her chest, staying there before slowly going away, leaving goosbumps all over Jane's skin. She winced, pulling the scoop out, the stones sitting inside.

"_Magic_," Jane whispered, looking down at the stones, quickly dumping them into their slot. Jane looked up at her Father that was staring curiously at her.

"What did you feel when you touched the stones Jane?" Her eyebrows came together, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you feel a tingling?" She looked at him, his face blank.

"Yeah….?" Frank stared at his daughter, his eyes misting over as he was lost in a long ago memory…

* * *

"_Francesco, come here son." A dark haired boy eagerly walked up to his Father who was standing next to a dark barrel. Frank peered inside, black stones sat there, gleaming in the single torches light. The King handed a metal scoop to his son telling him to scoop up the stones. Frank felt the eyes of his Father, watching him carefully. The boy scooped up the stones, looking up at the King questioningly._

"_Do you feel anything? A tingling perhaps?" Frank gripped the handle harder, holding his breath, waiting to feel something. He let out a puff of air and looked up to the King shaking his head._

"_Alright. Give me this," he gently grabbed the scoop out of Frank's hand, dumping out the stones. "Let your sister try."_

* * *

"Pa?" Jane's voice drew Frank out of his thoughts, he smiled softly at her. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, that is a very good thing. I'll explain everything when… you're a bit older." Jane opened her mouth to object but the King silenced her with a look. "Here, give me the scoop and go grab that torch." Jane handed it over and ran over to the wall, standing on her tip toes, grabbing the wood of the torch, and pulled the torch off of the wall with a grunt. Frank carefully grabbed the torch out of her hands and carefully placed it, flame first into a small hole. The girl shrieked with laughter as the inside of the cylinder burst into flames that flickered different colors. The stones clicked and shined against the fire, making light noises.

Frank quickly placed the torch back on the wall and grasped Jane's hand, walking out to the balcony. Jane had seen her Father do all of that before with a fast practiced manner, but she never knew what went on out here. Frank and Jane walked up stairs that clung to the outer edge of the tower, leading them to the top of it. She clung to the wall of the tower, not wanting to look past her Father and see how high up they really were. The wind whipped at their clothes, Frank's cape flapping around him.

They stepped off of the stairs and came to the top of the tower. Jane gasped as she saw what sat here. A massive golden table was planted in the middle of the small circler area. The Princess looked around herself, from this high up Terra sat all around them, as far as the eye could see. She squinted and thought she could just make out the sea sparkling. Frank stepped forward to the golden table. The top of the stone cylinder sat in the very center of the table, glowing a soft green and then slowly changing to a blue, the fire in its base changing the color.

The King pulled off his crown, popping out the purple stone that sat at the very center of it. He carefully placed it in the very center of the cylinder and stepped back. Jane stood there, holding her breath, staring at the stone. It slowly started to spin, held up by nothing. With a flash of light, that made Jane gasp, the golden table was suddenly covered with different colors. The brunette girl stared hard; her face grew shocked as she realized that the table was transformed to a massive map. She ran up to the edge of it looking at it. Mountains soared up on the farthest border of Terra, their peeks topped with white. There was a long strip of blue on one side, the ocean. City's dotted the landscape as did miniature versions of forests. She smiled, running her hand through the small castle that she knew was her home, Evelina spreading out around it.

Jane dared a glance at the stone that sat in the middle and quickly looked away; the stone was a pure white, casting the image onto the table so Frank could look at it. Jane smile turned into a grin as her Father grabbed a dial that sat on the edge of the table and twisted it. White suddenly covered the landscape, clouds. Frank frowned.

"It seems the rains are coming early this year, earlier than I thought."

"How soon Pa?" Jane asked, watching as he twisted it again, the large map of Terra showing up again, the white of the clouds leaving. He twisted the dial again, the clouds coming back, turning darker and seemed to almost turn black.

"Tomorrow."

* * *

**Please, if you need anyone to talk to, don't hesitate I am here. Weather you wish to speak to me through here or tumblr, I will always answer.**

**Thank you for reading and giving this a chance and thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**Please,**

**everyone take care in this troubled time. - FTP**


	6. Chapter 5

The sun was high in the sky, making sharp shadows fall upon the land. Crudely made houses swarmed with flies as their owners sat outside, their jaws slack and eyes dull. Some slowly moved through the center of the city, pulling along carts through the dust. They let out whopping coughs, their lungs filled with moister, their bodies frail and sick looking.

A small girl, her face covered in dirt, the shirt she was wearing had missive holes in it and stopped just above her knees seeming to be the only clothing she was wearing. Her hand clutched a small doll as she ran down the street, dust clouds forming behind her. The sun's heat sat heavily on her, her scalp cooking under it. She didn't care, her body already riddled with scabs and peeling skin. She slowed down, coming to the very center of the town, broken down shops circling around the chipped and broken fountain that sat in the very middle.

The dirty child ran forward again, coming up to her Mother who was washing her naked body in the little remaining water that sat in the bowl of the fountain from the last rain fall. Other's gathered around the dirty stone, trying to scrub off the desires that riddled their bodies. The girl dropped her doll, her Mother helping her lift off her dirty shirt. As she let it drop to the floor she felt someone's eyes on her. Everyone else seemed to busy trying to get the rotten flesh off of their bodies to notice her. Daring a look up, the sun blocking her view before it settled behind a massive tower, one of many.

There, the girl could just barely make out a person. A bold woman looked down on them from her balcony of the tower that casted the town center into darkness. They had never seen her up close, no, she never aloud that, never wanted to be touched by the filthy creatures that were pathetic excuses for humans to get near her. But she often found herself looking down, watching them move like rats. She could just make out a naked child looking up at her from the broken fountain.

She could feel that little gaze boring into her, asking her so many questions demanding so many answers. She gripped the railing with her hands, her muscles tightening. With a disgusted noise she turned around, walking back inside; the thick doors closing behind her casting out the sun's light. Slowly she sank to the floor of the room.

She folded her legs underneath her as she leant forward her forehead resting against the cold floor. Her arms were lying beside her, her fingers fanned out, the long nails resting against the stone of the floor. Smoke hung in the air as candles and incense burnt. A small fire sat in front of her, a cauldron resting over it with clear liquid that was slowly bubbling inside of it. It gave off a rancid smell that filled up the room, but she didn't seem to mind.

She slowly sat up, her arms straightening out on either side of her; white mist seeped out of her fingertips as she rolled her head around, her plump red lips parting. The fire's small flame reflected warmth onto her porcelain skin, the room's temperature starting to drop, her breaths coming out in little white puffs. The fog that came out of her hands slowly filled up the room, making it almost freezing.

She slowly opened her black eyes, her lips pulling up into a grin reviling long pointed teeth. She let her arms slowly fall, a small coating of ice running up her forearms. Her fingers landed on her bare thighs, the fabric of her outfit falling between her legs, the dark red flickering in the fires light.

"_Rain be with me,_

_Rain be with thee," _she slowly said, her voice deep as she grabbed a marble bowl filled with dried leaves. She crushed them in her hand, sprinkling the handful of them into the bubbling pot. The fog around her twisted and clawed at the circled walls, wanting to be let out into the world to spread its coldness. She breathed deeply through her nose speaking again.

"_Let your thunder be heard,_

_Let your lightning be hot._

_Cast Evelina in your darkness,_

_Cast the Queen in your coldness."_

She grabbed a small handful of a black powder, shaking it out of her hand over the water. With her clawed hand resting above the steaming pot, she slowly moved it in a circle, the water following the motion.

"_May your water break the seal,_

_That keeps me out."_

She breathed in deeply as the water started to form an image. Blonde hair shone through, blue eyes seeming to pierce the murky water. She leaned forward, the water reflecting the red from her outfit.

"Ahhh," she sighed out in her deep voice. "You're pregnant," she let out a throaty laugh. "All the better then." She leaned forward, her face inches from the boiling water. She felt the fire flicker out licking at her skin. She opened her mouth wide, wider then what was human, her tongue falling out, resting against her chin. Her body started to convulse as her stomach muscles tensed and then relaxed. Her eyes were wide open; the room grew colder as finally her stomach tensed a final time. Blackness oozed out of her mouth slowly falling out in clumps, sticking to her tongue and then sliding off, making the image of the blonde woman ripple and disappear as blackness seeped around the pot.

* * *

"Tomorrow?" Jane echoed, watching the white of the fake clouds turn darker over the glowing map. She glanced up at her Father as the wind whipped at them, making their clothes flap against their bodies. The King had a frown on his face. Suddenly he reached over, grabbing the stone from where it spun, the golden table going back to its normal flatness, no longer holding the land of Terra on it. Frank carefully placed the stone back into its place on his crown, his hands shook before he clenched them into fists.

"Pa, what is it?" Her Father seemed to forget that Jane was standing there. He looked around, finally spotting the Princess. He stared for a second longer before smiling.

"Nothing, it's just strange that the rains are coming so soon, that's all." He reached his hand out, offering it to his daughter who took it, still throwing looks at Frank. They carefully walked back down from the top of the tower and entered the room where the barrels where in. The fire that burned in the stone cylinder had somehow gone out on its own. They put the lids back on Jane talking animatedly,

"So Pa?"

"Yes Janie?" he asked, pounding on the top of a lid, making sure it was closed tightly.

"Why did you want to know if I felt a tingling when I touch the black stones?" Frank didn't even look at her when he spoke.

"What did I tell you?" She bit her lip, thinking back.

"You said that you would explain when I was older. But why can't you tell me now?" Finally her Father turned to her.

"Because Jane, it's too sensitive of a topic to discuss to you when you're this young."

"But Pa…" Jane beguine to whine, wanting to know what the significance of it was.

"Jane, I promise I will tell you, just not now. Okay?" He stared at his daughter before she nodded her head. "Come, let's go. I know your Mother is waiting to hear back from us." Jane stood there for a few seconds longer before shrugging her shoulders, opening the door to the stairway.

Now that they were heading down Jane was forced to look through the slits that where in the railway, seeing the bottom. She wobbled a little bit, scared by the height but she felt the Kings hand land on her shoulders, holding her in place. She gave him a shy smile before continuing going down.

Finally Jane's feet landed on the ground. She sighed, relaxing. The King heaved the door open, walking through before Jane. As soon as the King closed the door two men metalized out of nowhere, always ready to defend their King. Jane had always wondered about the bodyguards that were picked for the royal family. She knew some sort of ritual was done, bonding the two people but she didn't remember her own, Vince was chosen when she was still an infant.

Somehow they had a sixth sense about them, always knowing where there masters where. She glanced at them as they walked down the hallway after Frank locked the door. One of them locked eyes with her, smiling softly while the other stared ahead, his shoulders stiff and ready for anything. Smiling back at the other man Jane looked back forward.

They were walking across a bridge that connected the towers, tall windows lining the walls. She could just make out trees that sat on the ground. They swayed violently with the winds. Her eyes scanned over the land until they landed on the Suntam Mountain Range that sat to the west. Dark clouds sat around them, stuck behind the rocks. The mountains were the only things holding back the coming storms but the wind seemed to be winning the battle.

She grew giddy, tomorrow was the rain festival and her Dad had even said that they were going down to the city to join the people of Terra. They walked down the halls, hand in hand. Frank had yet to let the tension out of his shoulders making Jane uneasy. The brunette girl wondered what could make her Father so worried looking.

"So, what is it dear?" Amelia asked as soon as they stepped inside of the sitting room her and Frankie occupied. Jane let go of the King's hand, running over to sit next to her brother who was eagerly playing with a set of blocks.

"Tomorrow Amelia," she heard her Father whisper, his voice on edge.

"So soon?" Jane glanced at her parents who were huddled around each other, speaking softly. Her Mother had put on the same worried tone as her Father. "How can this be?" The Queen glanced at Jane who was looking at them curiously.

"I don't know…" he proclaimed running his hands through his hair, the crown stopping his worrying fingers. Amelia looked away from her daughter, whispering again.

"How do you not know?" She leaned in her head in further, trying to keep their conversation quiet from their children.

"I said I don't know!" he yelled, slamming his hand on the table. He sighed heavily looking back at his wife. "I'm sorry Amelia." She smiled sadly at him, embracing him back when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They stood there for a few seconds not saying anything before the King pulled away.

"I must attend to things." Jane snapped her head up look at him.

"But Pa! Today is our day!" the Princess complained, leaving her Brother to his blocks. "I haven't seen you all week!" Frank smiled sadly at her.

"I know Janey but I must get the kingdom ready for the rain festival. You want to complain about that?" he cocked an eyebrow up as he said this, knowing all too well that his daughter wouldn't do such a thing. He patted her on the head before giving the Queen a kiss and walked out, the tension showing even more in his shoulders as he left the comfort of his family.

Jane glanced up at her Mother. The blonde looked back giving her a smile.

"How was going up to the tower with Frank?" Jane grinned at her Mother as they walked back over to Frankie the Princess launching into the story of the stones and the map.

"And Pa even said that we could go into Evelina!" Amelia pulled a tired looking Frankie into her lap, his eyes drooping.

"Oh! We haven't done that for awhile." Jane fiddled with a block, choosing her words carefully.

"I know, not since Frankie was born." The Queen chuckled, remembering the last time they had taken Jane to the Festival. Her daughter had demanded to take a jar full of the rain water back to the castle with her. It still sat on her window seal.

"I think that would be fun," she finally answered. Jane looked up at her, a small smile spreading across her face. Her Mother slowly stood up, Frankie resting against her, his legs spreading around her stomach as he slept. "But if we're going, I think you should be the Bringer." The Princess let the block drop, standing up so fast she wobbled before regaining her balance.

"Really?!" She shrieked. The blonde covered Frankie's head, shushing her daughter playfully.

"Yes, but I think a dress fitting is in order." Amelia cocked an eyebrow, expecting a fight with her daughter.

"I don't care!" Jane yelled, running around her Mother, dancing in happiness.

"I get to be the Bringer, I get to be the Bringer!" she chanted, running out of the room, yelling it louder.

* * *

Maura reached up to grab the handle to the Isles estate but Vince shook his head, seeking a moment of privacy with the small girl. He opened up the bag that he had been carrying and rifled through it, looking for something.

"This is from Jane." He winked at Maura with his usage of the Princesses first name. He held out a small envelope to Maura who grabbed it with a moment of hesitation. Maura swallowed looking down at the paper in her hands. Her name was written across it; Jane's handwriting was neat but had a sloppy edge to it. Maura flipped it over, wanting to tear it open and read the letter right there. "Better wait till you have some privacy Maura," Vince said his voice soft. The golden haired girl looked up at him, nodding in understanding. Key's words coming back to her. Maura needed to keep her friendship with the Princess in secret.

"How do I get one back to her?" She was eager to run up to her room and read the letter, desperate to actually be speaking to someone who seemed to like her.

"I spoke to Richard before we left, asking him if he was willing to let your letters be sent through him. He is regularly writing to the King," Vince spoke, tugging on his goatee. "He has agreed to it."

"Oh," she said. _I guess that would make sense._

"I'll be back next week to show you what the staffs are for." Maura nodded, remembering how Vince had pulled up a section of land only to show a hole hidden there and dropped the staffs down, covering them up again. "Meanwhile, I want you to read the chapters on staffs from this." Unceremoniously Vince dropped a hefty book in her hands. Maura had seen the book before; it was lying next to the bag while they were in the hidden field, now that it was in her hands she could look at the cover. There was no title but there was a suit of armor stamped into the red leather that incased the large book. She was about to open it and rifle through it when the man next to her spoke again.

"You must do those exercises everyday Maura." She nodded her head, already feeling her stomach ache, her legs feeling like jelly. She bit her lip before throwing her arms around Vince's waist, squeezing him.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" The man smiled, placing a hand on the girls' dirty hair.

"You're welcome Maura. Now you should go back inside, they'll be wondering where you are." Maura quickly let go of Vince, smiling.

"Of course," she said, the envelope was burning a hole through her hand demanding her attention. He stepped off of the entrance way and headed down the road that lead him back to Evelina. Maura lingered for a second longer, before opening the door. The hall was full of children running around. Some carried brooms and mops others dirty laundry. Quickly, Maura tucked Jane's letter into the waist of her trousers, hiding it with her shirt, the book clutched to her chest.

She bolted for the stairs not seeing a boy doing the same thing. They collided; Maura's book flew out of her hands as she roughly landed against the ground. There was an apology in her throat when the boy kicked out violently at her, shoving her away from him.

"Watch it Maura-the-bora!" he yelled at her. The blonde girl quickly stood up, grabbing her book, and held her hip where his foot had landed. She bit her lip, trying to stop the sting of tears that threatened to form in her eyes. The boy threw a dark look over his shoulder making his face ugly at her before walking back down the hall.

She avoided the looks and questions thrown at her and quickly made her way up the stairs. Here it was less crowded but her housemates were still running around. All of them were eager to get their chores done, wanting to head to the city during their free time and hear the King's declaration on when the rains would come. Barely opening her door she slipped in, letting it click closed behind her before she ran over to her desk. With a loud thud she dropped the book, ripping out the envelope from Jane. Maura stared at her name for a second before flipping it over and tearing it open, making quick work of the Princesses handwriting.

_Dear Maura,_

_I really liked playing in the Gardens with you and Vince. Everything's boring here. Nothing's happening at all. I wish I could play with you again sometime soon._

_I hope you are okay._

_Your friend,_

_Princess Jane Rizzoli._

The blonde girl stared at the Princesses signature. Somehow that flourish of letters made it all seem that much more real for her. Sure she had gone up to the castle and spent her time with the funny girl, getting a ribbon out of it. But this letter represented so much more then the memories that Maura carried. It was showing the lonely girl that for once in her life, she had made a friend. Maura jumped violently when her door was thrown open, someone barging in.

"Oh, Maura, you're here," Alice said when she spotted her standing next to the small desk, Jane's letter clutched in her hand. The brunette woman held a massive pot in her hands. As she walked forward her leg bumped against it, sloshing the water on the inside. She set it down on the floor, grabbing the empty one. "Everyone's finishing up their chores and eating lunch if you want to join them?" Maura shook her head.

"I'm still full from the food that Vince gave me." The blonde girl turned around, tucking Jane's letter back into its envelope avoiding the other woman's questioning gaze.

"Alright, well I got you some new bath water. It's warm from sitting outside under the sun all day; you look like you want a bath." Maura returned Alice's smile with a small one of her own. "Okay, I'll leave you be then. You're free to do what you like until the feast. But if you're going into the city you have to let Kay know, she keeps a list just in case." At Maura's nod she left, closing the door behind her.

Quickly the blonde child grabbed the pot, huffing as she lifted it. The water sloshed around violently as her muscles shook, slowly lifting up the pot of water and dumping it into her small tub. She let the pot fall to the floor, catching her breath before stripping down, washing all the dirt off of her body.

Her small body already ached from all of the new excurses it was put there. After the water turned a murky brown Maura sat there for a few minutes longer, leaning back and closing her eyes just like she'd seen her Mother do before. The water seemed to seep into her body, calming the ache of the muscles and joints there.

After a while Maura felt her fingers beguine to prune and the water turned cold, so she got out, dressing quickly. She left her hair down as she grabbed the book Vince had given her, the ribbon tied securely around her wrist. The golden haired child crossed her legs, feeling the edge of her trousers brush against her bare feet. With a content sigh, she flipped open the book and began to read.

* * *

Trumpets blasted, men's feet thudded against the ground as they marched down the entrance way of the Rizzoli Castle to the town square. They cheered from the sides of the road, pressing against each other calling out loudly. They pointed and yelled as they spotted their King riding a white horse. He smiled broadly, his crown gleaming in the fading sun light. Knights surrounded him, their eyes peering through the slits on their helmets, looking for trouble. The Rizzoli crest flags whipped in the wind. But despite its constant force the day was warm and heavy.

"When do you think they'll come this year?" Jade asked Nera as he lifted one of the younger children and rested them on his shoulders. The dark woman looked at him, petting the cat that rested on Diana's shoulders.

"I'm not sure," she shrugged before looking back out over the crowd.

"In a week most likely, that's how it's been every year for as long as I could remember it," the blue haired girl interjected, not taking her eyes off of the striking figure the King posed on his horse.

"King Rizzoli!" The boy on Jade's shoulders shouted, waving his arms. He cheered loudly, his legs bumping against the fire haired man's chest as the King noticed him and waved happily. Jade couldn't help himself, the crowds energy was infectious, making him smile. The King stepped down, grabbing hands and returning kisses as he made his way through the people, the guards pushing through before him, clearing a pathway.

"My people!" he called loudly as he stood in the very center of the square on a small stage, looking over the packed bodies. He laughed as the cheering grew louder. People threw flowers at the stage and small gifts of wrapped twigs, giving him luck. His dark eyes scanned the buildings. All of them bore the traditional purple flags with golden rain drops on them. The structures outsides were painted merrily with different shades of blues, the street's swirling shades of purple and gold.

"People of Evelina!" He raised his hands, the crowed growing quiet after a few more minutes of cheering. "As you know, each year we welcome the coming of the spring rains! They nourish our lands and water our crops," he paused, waiting for the yelling to subside again. "But not only do they do that but they clear the Diamond pass in the Suntam Mountains, allowing safe passage to the harbor cities!" People screamed, stomping their feet against the ground. Eager to get products from the other cites that they had run low on through the winter months.

"When are they coming!?" Someone shouted, eager to get the festival started. Jade squinted when he noticed the King's sudden hesitation, the way his eyes shifted and looked down at the ground before smiling again.

"Tomorrow!" he yelled loudly. There was a collective gasp from the crowd. No one was expecting this; all used to the weeklong wait. People murmured with each other, trying to set plans in motion for the sudden festival that would be held tomorrow. The tension pounding down on the crowd as many realized that they didn't have enough time to get everything ready, before the King spoke again.

"I am having the castles personal stock of ale sent down to the city along with servants that are willing to help with all of the preparations!" Frank wasn't expecting the excitement in the crowd as everyone started to talk and cheer with each other all at once, eager that they wouldn't have to wait at least a week for the rains.

"Nera?" Jade whispered, turning slightly to face her. She stared at the King her hand frozen on Alba who meowed softly wanting her affection again.

"I…," she paused, looking at him. "I think I knew this was going to happen." Diana perked up, leaning around the black girl, getting into the conversation.

"You've seen this?" Nera looked back at the King who was smiling, heading back through the crowd.

"No… not this. But I…." she paused again, pressing her hand to her chest.

"What?" The boy that sat on top of Jade's shoulders grew still looking down at his older friends speaking to each other, picking up on the strained whispers.

"I don't know…," Nera said snapping her head up looking around, her eyes darting around. Then Jade felt it too. It was very subtle, the hairs on the back of his neck starting to stand up. He lifted the boy off of his shoulders, looking around with Nera, trying to find the source. His hair shifted to a darker red as he finally spotted it.

"The clouds, look." Jade pointed at the dark clouds that had been stuck behind the mountains for the past week. They had finally broken free of the stone wall. Lights flashed in the dark as lightning made itself known. They were too far away to hear the sounds of thunder but no doubt it was loud and unusual.

"Those aren't normal Nera…" Diana spoke softly, spotting what Jade had been looking at.

"No they're not," the dreaded girl said, her voice growing stern, her eyes shining. "Those were forced here by magic."

* * *

Maura ran her hand over the detailed drawn picture of a man wielding a staff. The book contained image upon image of fighting stances and attacks she could use with all possible weapons. She had already read all the chapters on staff work three times and now she simply sat on her bed, looking at the pictures. She barley heard the soft knock on her door.

"Yes?" she called, tucking the book underneath her pillow, not wanting anyone to find it. Kay poked her head inside smiling softly at the small girl.

"Hey there Missy, are you ready?" Maura blinked at her, forgetting the past events of the weekend.

"For the feast?" she asked quietly, looking down at her shoes that sat against her bed.

"You know you don't have to come and Alice is still willing to let you stay home," Kay whistled at her, still standing at the door way. Maura sighed heavily, biting the inside of her cheek before sliding off of the bed. Kay held the door open for her, looking at the blonde hair that fell around her shoulders, for once down.

"I remember Richard said this wasn't just for my parents? It was for everyone's?" The older woman held her hip as they slowly walked down the hallway that was littered with a few passing by children, all heading to the dining hall.

"Yes it's for everyone's. We try to honor their memoire and ask the Steorra to bless our grief with their passing." Maura grew silent at the mention of a god. It's not that she didn't believe in a higher power it's just that she saw no need to turn to them. She felt like she always wanted to deal with her own problems instead of asking for aid.

Kay didn't press Maura to speak thinking that the small child was lost in thoughts of her parents. When they entered the hall it was full with soft spoken children, all knowing what this meal meant. The older looking girls gave Maura a sympathetic smile, others resting their hands on their hearts offering her their sympathy at her recent lost. The younger kids ignored her like always, too wrapped up with each other and their friends.

The older woman next to Maura pointed to a free spot that would sit her across from the boy that had kicked her during lunch time. Moodily Maura sat, staring down at her shinning plate, not daring to look at him. No doubt he was doing the same.

"I'm sorry for your lose…," his voice held an edge to it like he was forcing himself to say it to her. But when she looked up his eyes were soft, showing he truly meant it. She opened her mouth, pausing for a second trying to overcome her confusion at his sudden mood change towards her.

"Thank you…?" she dragged it out, not knowing his name.

"I'm Ian."

"Oh… Thank you Ian," she said politely before turning back to her plate.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for her, her inner cheek bleeding heavily in her mouth as she fought tears against Richard's words. The meal was large and delicious but it was hard to swallow for Maura, her throat constricting as she fought her tears. Ian said a few things to her from time to time, always asking questions when she was going to finally give in to her tears. Maura realized that he was distracting her, trying to help her get through her sadness.

The children soon cleared out taking care of their plates and saying thanks to the head cook. Maura sat there, picking at the bread that was on her plate, her mind going over and over again of the staff moves she had read. Ian had left too after giving up on talking to Maura.

"Maura dear? Are you ready?" Alice asked softly sitting down next to her. The blonde girl was just thinking about the movement to stop a high blow when the brunette woman sat down.

"We're going to the graveyard now aren't we?" she dropped her bread, stealing a look at Alice.

"Only if you want to, I'm not going to force you." After a second longer the child slipped out of her chair, pushing it in before grabbing her plate. Alice calmly waited as Maura cleaned up after herself, having watched all the other children do it.

* * *

The ride through town was silent, the carriage lurching back and forth as the driver had to stop and then start to go again, trying to move around the crowds of people as they ran about, getting the city ready. Maura leaned her head against her hand looking out the window, watching all the people.

"Do you know when the rains are going to come?" The child finally asked Alice.

"Tomorrow actually," she responded happily. "You'll have lessons in the morning, between breakfast and lunch but Master Isles is dismissing all the chores, saying everyone may leave early for the festival." Maura looked at Alice, her mind whirling. If she had lessons in the mornings and chores in the afternoon with barley any free time when was she supposed to train? And do what Vince had asked of her? She bit her thumb nail, looking back out the window. "I also heard that the royal family is coming down to celebrate with us, like they did when the Prince was born." The brunette gossiped.

"Will the Princess be there?!" she asked urgently, not caring about the rest of the Rizzoli family.

"I'm sure she will. She'll mostly likely be the Bringer." Maura sat back, the cushion of the seat under her supporting her sore muscles. Jane as the Bringer of the rain. Sadly with this role, Maura knew, she wouldn't be able to get close to her friend. Jane would be too busy with the pre-rain ceremony. _Maybe I could speak to her when the rain actually comes?_ She asked herself. Maura was jostled out of her thoughts as the carriage stopped in front of a large field, headstones dotting the landscape.

Alice was the first to get out, helping the girl to step down. Silently Maura followed her through the row after row of stone. Her eyes scanned the names reading them to herself. Death was always an interesting thing to her. One moment the thing was alive and then the next it was gone forever, no amount of pleading with the gods could bring them back.

She stopped in time before bumping into Alice as she stood in front of two small stones that stood out of the ground, names engraved onto them.

_Patrick Doyle._

_Hope Doyle. _

Maura blinked, her eyes scanning over their names again and again. She had been distracting herself, she knew this much. She had been trying to busy herself with things that wouldn't let her mind wonder. Reading had helped, but the training with Vince had cleared her mind, dulling the pain of her lose. As she looked at the white stones, her heart squeezed on itself.

Looking at these things made it more real for Maura. She would never be able to distract herself enough from being able to see these stones in her mind over and over again. But she knew something that she could do. She could make her Mother and Father proud of her; make them see what an amazing woman she would come out to be one day. She stared at their names, the pain in her chest starting to let up. She heard Alice start to walk away from her, giving her her privacy. Swallowing away the lump in her throat Maura called out to her.

"No wait, Alice." She ran after her, the brunette confused.

"Can we go now…?"

"Maura? We just got here?" The blonde shook her head, walking further down the row.

"Those stones say that my parents are there. But I know," she paused thinking about something her Father had once said to her. "But I know that whatever dies will always be around, will always be watching over everything. I know my parents are watching over me and…," she faltered in her speech before raising her head up, her chin jutting out bravely. "And I know that whenever they saw me upset it always hurt them. So wherever they are, wherever they are watching over me, I want them to see me happy." She turned, not waiting for Alice to start walking and headed back to the carriage.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**I always love hearing your thoughts towards the chapters and guesses as to what's going to happen next.**

**3**

**Take Care - FTP**


	7. Chapter 6

Jane's hands brushed against the dark blue of the dress again, her eyes shining. The Princess had allowed the Queen to talk on and on about fashion and the dress that she was having the tailor make for her daughter. The brunette child didn't care, her body shook with excitement for tomorrow. She would be the one responsible for letting the people of Evelina know the second before the rain fell from the sky.

Jane had seen it done when they'd last attended the festival. The Bringer would sit upon a risen stage, overlooking the people that drank and danced below them. She didn't know how the Bringer knew when the rains were about to fall. But one minute they would be sitting there smiling down at the people and the next they would be standing up, their body stretched out as their hands reached up towards the sky as the rain started to fall down.

A cool breeze blew through the open door that led to her balcony, pulling her out of her thoughts. The Princess let her hand drop from the dress that was hung up. It swung slightly from the motion the fabric brushing against the other dress that hung next to it, the one for the ball. Mr. Hedren had finished it, his only work being the Princesses and Queen's dresses. The pink of her ball gown and the blue of her festival dress clashed. Jane grimaced as she looked at the gown. It was beautifully done but the color and lace made the Princess shudder.

Another breeze blew through her bedroom. She moved towards the open doors staring out over the dimming land of Terra. The dark clouds looked like a massive wave coming slowly towards the city. She saw flashes of light as lightning tore its way through them. Jane could no longer see the mountains, the stone swallowed up with the coming storms. Her Father had returned in time for dinner but he barely said a word and ran out when he was done. Jane had tried to catch his attention but all she got was a "Not now Janey." At least Frankie got a kiss on the head as the King left.

"Jane? What are you doing with the doors open?! You'll catch a cold with that wind!" Angela called, bustling over, locking the doors in place against the wind. It whistled outside, pressing against the barrier one last time before giving up and moving on.

"Will you be coming to watch the festival too Angela?" Jane asked as she looked up to her, noticing the flour brushed across her cheek, her hair fanned out, strands falling out of the pen that held it up.

"The King has asked me to help with the preparations, so hopefully I'll have time to go." Upsilon

"I hope you can go!" Jane practically yelled running back towards the closet that held all her outfits. "Pa said I could be the Bringer this year!" Jane's maid's face broke out in a massive grin at her.

"Well, in that case; let's get you changed and into bed. Tomorrow will be a very busy day for you!"

"I want to wait until Vince get's back before I go to sleep," Jane said stubbornly, running away from her and into the other room. Angela sighed heavily, her back aching from all the work she did today and now she had to deal with this stubborn child. Jane took off her crown, shaking out her curls as Angela walked over to help her out of her dress and into her nightgown.

* * *

When Vince finally walked into the room, Jane was laying down on the floor on her stomach, her legs swinging slowly back and forth in the air while her small hand clutched a piece of colored lead. Her tongue had slowly made its way out of her mouth as she concentrated on the book that sat open before her. Angela had gotten it for her as a winter solstice gift. Jane squinted her eyes as she scribbled; her small hand carefully coloring in the blank pictures bringing them to life with color.

Angela sat in the coroner of the room, watching over the Princess. She huffed, moving the piece of fabric she was mending. The door to the room swung open suddenly, Jane's bodyguard finally stepping inside. He was weighed down with two large sacks that he let fall to the floor.

"Vince!" Jane called, dropping the lead and running towards the tall man, throwing her arms around his middle. "I missed you! How was the city!?" _How was Maura?_ Jane was really asking. As always the dark haired man picked up on the unspoken question. He casted a quick glance at Angela before he smiled. Vince pounded his fist into his open palm. _**She's strong. It's still too soon to tell but… I could see her going far. **_Jane's heart stilled for a moment her mind conjuring up a fear inducing image.

* * *

Maura was older in her mind, her long hair tucked underneath a shinning helmet. She was standing on a large mound of dirt, the sun shining down on her. Her gloved hands were gripping a long wooden pole; a dark purple flag whipping in the wind as she waved it back and forth, the Rizzoli crest there for all to see. Her mouth was open in a scream. The other knights rode past her with such speed; hooves thundering and turning up dirt. They all had their swords drawn and they held them high over their heads, their deep voices joining in with Maura's high one as they charged into battle with an unforeseen enemy.

* * *

Vince moved away from her; the sudden motion causing Jane to break away from her imagination. She smiled stronger as she became slightly giddy, thinking about the possibility of her friend fighting for her one day.

"Thank you Vince," Angela said with a smile as she grabbed the bundle of envelopes and one package from the man who smiled back at her. Jane rolled her eyes as she watched the interaction between these two. Vince held onto the package for a second too long, his finger brushing against hers as they shyly glanced at each other. It was always like this with these two. _Gross_. Jane thought to herself as she snorted softly turning away, picking up her coloring book and lead.

There was a knock on the door to Jane's room before it swung open again. The Princess's eyebrows creased together. She was confused with all of this company, not used to it.

"Jane, sweetheart what are you still doing up?" The Queen asked eying her daughter standing there her mouth agape.

"Uh…," the brunette child knew she had forced Angela's hand with allowing her to stay up till Vince got back, but now that her Mother's perfectly sculpted eyebrow was raised up and her blue eyes staring at her made her mind go blank. "I, uhm-"

"She wanted to stay up and watch me while I mended this blanket, your Majesty," Angela spoke up, dropping her gaze and curtsying, Vince bowing low next to her. Jane tried to school her features desperately wanting an argument not to break out.

"Oh?" Amelia asked, her lips tilting up into the start of a smile. She was resting her hand on top of her swollen belly and she grimaced in pain for a second as Jane's younger brother kicked roughly. "Is this true?" she asked her smile growing larger.

"Well…," Jane started; glancing at the blanket that was now resting on the chair her maid was sitting in. "I was really, uh, interested in," Jane gulped looking again at the blanket. There was a beautifully woven flower sitting in the middle of it and Angela was fixing a section that was coming loose. "How Angela was fixing the flower on it. It's cool that she can re-sow it in…" Jane trailed off, her hands gripping her book.

"Oh." Her Mother glanced at Angela who was smiling softly down at Jane, dimples just starting to peek out of her cheeks. Amelia narrowed her eyes at the woman, her hands pressing harder against her stomach before turning her attention back onto her daughter. "Why don't you spend an afternoon with me and my friends sometime? I'll show you what a real seamstress can make." She raised her eyebrows, her smile sweet and fake.

Jane swallowed thickly looking around. She was desperately trying to come up with a lie to get out of a whole afternoon of boredom. This wouldn't be the first time the Queen had tried to drag Jane to an "afternoon full of fun" as the blonde had once put it. Several times she was able to get the squirming child into a nice outfit, her hair somewhat tamed and most of the dirt out from underneath her finger nails. At the time the Princess couldn't help but wonder what was considered fun for her Mother. But when the door opened and it showed six other women sitting around with blankets and needles and looms everywhere Jane had groaned loudly, trying to tug her hand out of her Mothers.

Somehow Amelia had managed to get her feisty daughter to sit down next to an old woman who, at the time smelt like rotten apples to Jane, showed her how to mend a hole in a blanket. The Queen had picked up on Jane's hatred towards the activity but couldn't help but smile to herself as her daughter showed almost all her attention to the older woman, being respectful to an elder.

"That…," Jane finally spoke up but couldn't bring herself to lie to her Mother. Thankfully the Queen spoke up.

"Oh look at us, keeping you up longer. You know you have a big day tomorrow!" Jane sighed silently at the change of subject.

"I can't wait for the Rains to come Ma!" Jane said excitedly, running around in a small circle, clutching the book to her chest. _**I hear a special someone is going to be the Bringer…**_ Vince grinned at her, knowing how much this meant to the Princess.

"I simply cannot wait!" Jane said, clasping her hands to her chest, the book making it look awkward, her voice had a polite air to it. Vince laughed gruffly to himself remembering Jane had once called it her "Princess Voice" only using it when her Mother gave her a stern eye at events.

"The sooner we put you to bed the sooner tomorro-" Angela started to say, walking over to Jane. But Amelia cut her off.

"That is perfectly alright _Angela,_" her voice was slightly colder when speaking to the maid. "I'll put Jane to bed." She smiled down at her daughter who was now standing next to her leg looking up at her. "You really should finish…. Well whatever it was you were doing." Ruthlessly the Queen gestured to the folded up old blanket.

"As you wish your Majesty," the brunette woman bowed her head watching as the Queen and Princess walked into the other room.

* * *

Candle light flickered in the Moonlight Inn. A small circle of men sat in a corner, drums resting in front of them as they pounded out a soft beat to the few people who danced in front of them. Wind from the coming storms pressed against the thick walls, adding to the hum of conversation that hung in the air. Jade and Nera sat at a table, hands gripping mugs, seeking the warmth that the hot cider offered. A fire flickered off in the corner where, as always, a cloaked woman sat there sipping her tea. Jade glanced over at her, the back of his neck prickling. He couldn't see her eyes, the hood of the cloak casting a too dark of a shadow over her face, but he felt her eyes upon him, studying him.

"I don't know why she always has to stare at me…" he mumbled, taking another drink from his mug. Nera grinned, whispering back to him.

"She's not staring at you." As if to prove her point Nera raised her mug to the hidden figure who sat on the other side of the room. Jade let out a huff of air, slouching his shoulders as the dark figure returned the gesture to his friend.

"Oh come on Jay!" Nera laughed, the cider making her loose and bolder. "Just a second ago you were complaining that she was staring at you!" Again the darker woman laughed.

"I know that! All I'm saying… some company wouldn't hurt." Nera pressed her hand to her chest, her face looking hurt.

"Ouch."

"Oh! You know what I mean!" he snapped back, taking another drink from his mug. He coughed loudly, choking on the cider as a hand slapped his shoulders.

"Och! How many times do I hava' tell ya Jade?!" A woman was standing next to the table now. "Don't slouch at da table! It'll hurt ya back it will." Jade promptly sat up straighter Nera giggling at the interaction with the barmaid and him.

"Luna, you know I only do it to gain your attention," Jade said back flirtatiously. Luna laughed loudly, her enormous breasts giggling, pressing against the corset she wore, daring the fabric to tear.

"Ya know just what to say to make a woman feel young again," Luna purred, her purple eyes twinkling, evidence of her fairy heritage. Nera leaned forward breaking up Jade and Luna's conversation.

"Luna, any more news on our cloaked friend?" The barmaid looked over her shoulder to get a glance at the fire place, but it was now empty the tea cup resting against the stone ready for her to pick it up.

"I've been askin' around like ya asked me too and well," Luna paused, wringing the towel that was in her hand. "Tiss not good honey."

"What do you mean?" Jade asked, wanting to know.

"Well… As much as everyone else as gotten to know, she's from Menoir." Jade and Nera both grew silent, Jade staring into his mug. "But it's odd; she doesn't speak with a Menoir accent." Luna shrugged just as a man raised his glass yelling loudly for her. "Show time," Luna whispered to them, gripping her breasts and pushing them up before she turned around to greet the man who had called for her, her fairy wings tucked close to her back.

"Jade…?" Nera asked, her friend still needing to speak.

"I should have known," he said with a grimace.

"There was no way you could tell Jade."

"Yeah there was! When we saw her thieve that night, we should have known that skills like that only come from Menoir!"

"Doesn't mean she's all bad, we just gotta talk to her." Nera sighed, pushing her chair out from under the table. "I'm going to go dance, I recommend you step outside or something Jay, cool off." He watched her walk away joining the few people who were dancing slowly. Jade knew what this meant, why Nera was dancing. It was the only way that she could see the visions that she had in her sleep more clearly.

She closed her eyes, her hands weaving themselves over her head as her feet landed on the ground in time with the beat of the drums. Her long dreads swung around with her body. Jade blinked as he saw the dark purple glow that seeped out of his friend as she used her magic to attempt to see more clearly.

Ever since they found out the clouds were forced here by magic Nera's face has been going blank for several seconds as she tried to see why. Jade, accustomed to these moments couldn't help but wonder if something was blocking Nera's sight, stopping her from being able to see. Never before has she had this much trouble with seeing into the future. Jade took another swing of his cider, his eyes still on his friend.

Nera's movements grew faster, people stepping out of the way of her. Beads that were in her hair clicked together with each movement, her necklaces swinging. Men slowly stopped their conversations to watch this woman. The drummer's hands beat faster on their drums, making her dance harder. Purple shimmered out of her but suddenly there was a darker color, something adding to it. A black wrapped around her, pushing off the purple. It was darker than any shadow Jade had ever seen. For a second, Nera disappeared completely before the blackness left all together.

Nera stood there frozen, eyes wide open. Jade knew her well enough to know that look she gave him. They couldn't speak about what she had seen in public, needing to head back to their hideout; the caves in Dark Woods. He stood up grabbing his cloak and hers as she walked towards him. They threw them over their shoulders, fastening the cords, welcoming their warmth.

"Leavin' already?" Luna called from the counter.

"Sorry love, we'll be back!" Jade called, throwing her a wink as they left the Inn.

* * *

She was laying in bed, the dark silk blankets and bedspreads where wrapped around her naked body. Hardly did she ever sleep, no need for it, she got her rest from other sources. But now she slept. Exhausted from the spell she called upon, dragging the massive storms clouds sooner to Terra. She was lying on her side her arms clutched to her chest as if cradling something precious there, her legs drawn up.

Her face twitched as she dreamt of a better word, a better land one that she ruled over. Moonlight fell through a window making her pale skin glow. Suddenly her dreams turned from peaceful to nightmarish. A dark skinned woman's face swarmed to her mind's eye. Long dreadlocks floated around the face, gold eyes flickering as they stared at her. A Purple glow came out of the woman, scratching away at her brain.

"NO!" she screeched loudly, her deep voice growing high in her hysteria. She sat bolt upright, waking from her dream, shutting out the woman. This is why she never slept; her guard would fall allowing others to see her. She sat there panting trying to calm down, her shield slowly falling back in place keeping other invading minds out. She always felt them, trying to pick apart her, trying to figure her out.

The pale woman swung her legs out, standing up, letting the blankets fall to a pool on the floor. Goosbumps rose on her skin, her nipples hardening with the freezing temperature of the room. She hated warmth, hated the sun, it reminded her to much of her childhood. No matter how many spells she casted she could never keep the sun away for too long, it always came back, stronger than before. Now she welcomed the freezing light of the moon.

She stood at her window looking out over the destroyed land that she called home. Her long hand rubbed against her face, trying to get the sleep out of it before moving up to brush across her bald head. Another thing she had to sacrifice. It was all worth it she would tell herself over and over again. The pale woman walked over to the massive mirror that sat in her bed chambers. With disgust she looked at herself.

Her skin was drawn tight over her body. Her tall height made the rest of her too skinny, bones pressing against its fleshy prison. She brought a hand up, running it along a rib, her long black nails scraping the flesh. She felt hunger stab at her, but it wasn't for the taste of food, it was something else. As if her servants knew she was awake a small bell chimed softly in her room. At the sound her mouth flooded with saliva, her tongue coming out to lick her lips, swallowing loudly.

Quickly she got dressed, her outfits always showing off her thin long body. Her bare feet slapped against the cold stone of the floor as she made her way down to the dining hall. She gasped gripping her head as she swayed; suddenly a flash of purple hit her. _That woman!_ She thought loudly to herself. Gripping her teeth she turned right, veering off her original path. Quickly she walked down a flight of stairs, the fabric of her gown flowing behind her, her white legs dancing out with each step.

She pressed against the purple with her own black, trying to slow her down. The pale woman hadn't slept, or gotten a chance to feast; her ability to stop this dark woman from getting into her mind was getting harder and harder with each passing second. Clenching her teeth together she grabbed the handles of a two massive doors, ripping them open. A man was in her observation room, cleaning up the bowls she had used to cast the spell.

"Get out!" she cried, feeling her body weakening with the attack from this woman. The man didn't move at first, standing there staring at her, shocked to actually see her in person. "I said get out!" she screamed again. Baring her pointed teeth like an angry animal she stabbed her hand into the man's chest, her long nails cutting into flesh like it were made of parchment. She watched as his face showed his shock, blood pooling out of his mouth as she squeezed his still beating heart.

Like a serpent her jaw grew wider and wider, cracks of bone popping out of place echoed through the room. She towered over this man as her long tongue fell out of her mouth, her face growing closer to him. Blackness fell from her mouth, landing in clumps on the ground, her eyes changing color back to how they used to be, white filled up where the black was, irises finally showing their true color of a light brown.

Her other hand gripped the back of his head, her fingers gripping the oily hair there. She turned his face up to hers, baring his neck. With a snarl she bit into it, gasping as warm blood pooled out of the massive wound her sharp teeth had made there. Her inhumanly large jaw bit deeper into his neck, allowing her tongue to loop around his artery, tearing it in half. She sucked greedily, moaning in pleasure as the warmth of this man's life filled her. He gurgled and shook as her hand gripping his heart pumping it for him, making sure her mouth got every ounce of his blood.

She opened her eyes, still suckling on the oozing wound when she felt the prickle of the black woman trying to get into her mind again. It wasn't as strong as it was before, now that she had regained some of her strength. But she needed someone younger, someone with youthful blood to go back to her full strength. The man gave one last shudder before she let go of him. He crumpled to the ground like an empty sack.

She stood there, her body shaking from the sudden high that overcame it. She closed her lids slowly, her jaw finally closing, crimson staining the front of her. She laughed softly, her voice deep and horse. The prickling in her mind reminded her of why she was here again. She opened her eyes; again they were back to their solid black.

"You're mine."

* * *

Jane recklessly threw her coloring book onto one of the tables that sat in her room and ran towards her bed, jumping into it playfully. Amelia smiled as she drew the covers up on her daughter, packing them in around her body to keep her warm. The fire was slowly eating away at a large log casting the room in its warmth making Jane sleepy.

"Ma," she yawned loudly as the Queen settled on the edge of the bed looking at her. "Will you tell me a story?" She yawned again making her Mother's smile turn into soft laughter.

"You're practically falling asleep talking to me, what'll make you think you'll stay awake for a whole story?" she asked, resting her hand on her stomach again.

"Please?" Jane grinned at her as she blinked lazily.

"Oh, alright, which one do you want to hear about?" When Jane was the Queen's only child she had often times found herself in her daughter's bedroom, reading books aloud to her even though the infant couldn't understand words yet. When Jane was old enough to understand, Amelia enjoyed it even more. But once Frankie was born her attention had turned to the Prince. The brunette child missed falling asleep to the soft voice of the Queen.

"Why the Rains come…"

"Oh Jane, that story is so long, why not pick a shorter one, you'll fall asleep before I even get half way. You do it every time," The Queen added the last part with a smile

"No, I'll stay awake for all of it I promise Ma…"

The Queen gave her a long look before indulged the young girl with her obsession of the Gods. Amelia looked out the window for a second, remembering the story. There was a rustle as Jane shifted to get more comfortable. Her Mother looked back down at her, clearing her throat before speaking.

_A long, long time ago, before Terra was formed and before the Earth had men walking upon it, before animals roamed the naked land, picking at the plants and fighting over un-farmed land; when Earth was just nothing but mud and rock, the sun beating down on the ground day after day, no night to break it up._

Amelia stopped speaking smiling down at her daughter. Jane's eyes were half closed, her lips in a circle around her thin thumb softly sucking on it. Jane had managed to sneak her thumb into her mouth; normally her Mother would scold her for doing such a thing. But now the Queen felt a flutter in her chest as she looked at the brunette child with such love.

"ont sop," Jane said around the object in her mouth, asking her Mother to keep speaking.

_Up in the pure white clouds, away from the horrid place that Earth was lived a woman. Her skin was as white as snow, her hair the color of the pure white clouds that sat underneath her, her eyes were as yellow as the sun and her lips as red as the very blood that runs through your body. Her face the definition of beautiful._

_On her head sat a massive crown of branches and her gown was made of the softest silk and it fanned out beneath her, making up the clouds that shielded her from the spitting mud below._

_No one remembers her name, it forgotten among the thousands of generations that have spoken of her. All now refer to her as The Mother, for she was the one that birthed the rest of the gods, the one that formed Earth into what it is today. _

_With the sun beating down upon her throne in the sky she was approached by a faceless creature. Something she did not make. It was shapeless, holding no form but it was there. It had dropped to its knees before her dark throne, bowing its blank head. It had told her that it had walked from the farthest corner of Earth. That it had been waiting for her to lay the final seed onto the ground to birth our home. That it had been here, floating in nothingness until The Mother had finally come turning dark to light. She had asked how long this creature had walked, it's breathes were labored, sweat falling all around it. Forever, it had said. It could not tell her how long for the sun was always high in the sky, always making everything around it parish. _

_As if to prove a point the creature had died right where it kneeled; the heat from the sun killing it. No one knows how long she had sat up on her throne, staring at the dead body. It could have been days or years or even decades. But Finally The Mother had stepped off of her throne, her gown sliding behind her, the clouds shifting over Earth with her movements. Carefully she had taken the crown off of her head, setting it down next to her as she gracefully crouched next to the shapeless thing. In the very center of the branches that wrapped around each other floated a single golden egg._

_It was very small, as she grabbed it, placing it between her finger and thumb. Some say that The Mother knew all along this creature had lived here, that is why she shed light on the dark. She moved her hand over the thing that was in a heap upon the clouds and broke the egg over it. Inside the egg was a black yolk. Things twinkled inside of it, moved inside of it. The yolk fell on the creature, seeping into its body. The Mother had stood back as the thing jerked, its heart starting again. The shapeless body twitched and moved taking the form of the Mother, its blank face finally forming a nose, lips, cheeks and hair._

_This creation, this second god had darker skin than The Mother, it was almost a solid black it was so dark. Desperately she opened her eyes, a brilliant yellow; the color of the sun. The hair that had grown from the head had grown so long, longer then the length of the body. It was a solid white, just like The Mother's._

"_Breathe my child of the night," The Mother had said softly, dropping to her knees by her daughters head, running her fingers through the white hair. Tears had formed in The Mother's daughters eyes as her body now craved air, just as we do. "Breathe Steorra- _

"I thought Steorra had solid white eyes and her hair was short?" said a small voice from the bed. Amelia blinked, looking back down at Jane who was now wide awake, finally old enough to stay up, hearing the whole story. The Queen had lost herself in the story, remembering her very first time hearing it.

"It is…" The Queen paused dramatically. "_Now,"_ she dragged out. It had the right effect on her daughter. The Princess eyes widened, larger then plates.

"What do you mean _now_!?" she asked in a rush, eager to hear another story she had not.

"Another time Jane, ask Vince, he tells it much better than I do. Now do you want me to finish this story or not?" The Princess nodded roughly, burrowing back into her blankets, her thumb finding home in her mouth again.

"Now where was I…?" The Blond paused before clearing her throat again.

"_Breathe Steorra." The Mother had said. Finally her daughter's lips pulled apart gulping in the air that Earth offered to her. She had coughed harshly, her body not used to breathing. After a few minutes The Mother had helped Steorra to her feet. The goddess of night found herself almost a head and a half taller than the god who had given her life._

"_You gave me life," her voice was just as deep as The Mothers, making the clouds rumble with thunder. "You are my Mother." She had said looking down at the other Goddess who nodded up at her. Suddenly the sky had darkened, Steorra not knowing why but The Mother did. The heat from the sun cooled as it finally set for the first time, letting the ground of Earth welcome the coldness of its very first night._

"_Now, you must make a beacon to the creatures we will make that will spread the seeds of life upon the ground of Earth. You need to make a light source for them; something to guide them through all this blackness." The Goddess's eyes shined through the darkness that the setting sun had left them in. Steorra had looked down upon her hands and saw the raw power she held there. Carefully, The Mother guided her daughter and together they created the stars that we see at night. They show us the way, telling stories of fearless fighters throughout the years._

Amelia paused, looking down at her daughter. Jane was laying there, her thumb still in her mouth, her eyes glued to her. "You really should go to bed Jane; you have a big day tomorrow." The Princess grunted, pulling her thumb out of her mouth.

"No Ma, please finish," she whined softly. _How could I say no, when she's finally paying attention to me?_ The Queen cleared her throat again.

_Within several nights the stars were born, each placed with the power that Steorra held in her hands, a gift from her Mother. There was a section of black that hung in the sky above them; no matter how many starts they placed there it didn't seem right. One night, The Mother was walking upon the ground of the Earth, fog swirling behind her. She was placing seeds in the hides of animals, telling them to go forth and spread the life she was giving them. Steorra was high up in the heavens gazing at the patch of black sky_

_So she had looked down at a mountain, its peak touching the tops of the clouds. Her mind sparked with an idea, her hands lifting up, blue raining out of them as it gripped the rock. With a violent explosion she lifted the mountain from the Earth, forming the rock into a ball, adding onto it so it grew larger and larger until finally she had thrown it into the sky. Thus the moon as made, its brilliant light showing direction to all that lived on Earth._

_But something had made her freeze a voice. "Steorra," her Mother had called. She was down on Earth when the explosion issued, getting caught in its blast. She had enough strength to make the journey back up to the heavens and it is there she collapsed, red spilling from a wound that her hands pressed against. Steorra had been reckless with her powers, throwing them around and others got hurt. The clouds underneath them started to rumble when Steorra shouted her Mother's name and ran to her, cradling her head in her lap as she died._

There came a sniffle from the mound of blankets that was Jane. Amelia mentally shook herself, looking down at her daughter. The Princess had a few tears running down her face.

"Oh, honey are you alright?" the Queen asked, wiping the tears off of her daughters cheeks.

"The Rains, they're Steorra's tears for her Mother aren't they?" the Princess's voice was deep and raspy from the shed tears.

"Yes they are."

"And you want me to bring them tomorrow!? You want me to make Steorra cry again!?" Jane had sat up, her eyebrows frowning in anger.

"No Jane, it's not like that at all. Steorra has blessed us with the rain to water our crops and clear the pass's allowing us to move to other cities. The first rain fall was Steorra's tears, but now they're a gift to the things that her Mother had made. The Mother made everything that you see. Steorra honors that in every way she can." The Princess was silent with this reasoning that her own Mother had just spoken to her. She wiped her face one last time before lying back down, the blankets welcoming her back to their warmth.

"How will I know Ma? How will I know when the Rains are about to fall?" the Princess asked timidly. The blonde woman didn't say anything for a few seconds, Jane's eyes stabbing into her.

"You'll feel a moment of great sorrow; what Steorra had felt when her Mother died by her own hand." Jane was silent, horror written on her face. "It will be very brief Jane, only lasting a second if you are scared we can-" the Princess cut her Mother off.

"I'm not scared!"

"No?" Amelia asked with a hint of doubt in her voice.

"No, I'm not. I just don't want to put Steorra through that pain again," she mumbled into the blankets.

"Jane, Steorra is a Goddess. She's strong enough to handle it; she has in the past, year after year. I think she will be fine." Jane sighed, she knew her Mother was from the Aushtick Isles, thus the Queen had grown up on two different religions. So the Princess was able to pick up on the hint of agitation in her voice, Amelia's beliefs resting elsewhere.

"I guess you're right," she finally said, casting a look at her Mother.

"Everything will be fine, you'll see." She leaned down and kissed Jane on her forehead before standing up. "Goodnight Jane, try to get some rest, tomorrow is a big day." She closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar; light spilling in from the other room. Jane sat there in her bed, staring up at her painted ceiling, her mind racing over the story her Mother had just told her. Soon however sleep took over her and she was casted into dreams filled with images of dark clouds booming loudly and red rivers swirling around her, her own tears mixing in with it.

* * *

The sun was setting behind the massive wall of clouds, the temperature already starting to drop. Its cold breath licked at Jade and Nera's naked arms, their cloaks blowing violently behind them, wind pushing them away from their bodies. They leaned in towards the wind, slowing picking their way towards the Dark Woods.

"Nera!" Jade shouted again. "What did you see?!" She stopped walking turning to face him, the wind howling making her shout over it.

"Not here Jade!"

"Why!?" He yelled again, walking up to her, gripping her shoulders, trying to block out the wind. Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound from behind them. Dark globs pressed out of the dirt, taking shape. Large hands gripped the ground as they pulled themselves up, teeth clicking together. A deep voice echoed around Jade and Nera as the things got closer.

"_This will teach you to not go looking for answers!"_ The things charged at the them, screams ripping through the night.

* * *

**I'M BACK.**

**So originally Maura's section was added onto this also but then that would have made this whole chapter a total of like 10,000 words.**

**And that's just too much.**

**So I cut it, but we will be focusing on her more in the next chapter.**

**Let me know what you guys are thinking on this, etc etc, please.**

**Thank you for reading, thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**Alright cool.**

**So,**

**Take Care everyone! I've missed you guys!**

**-FTP**


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